Colloquium: Uncertainty at the quantum-and-gravity interface

Abstract

The overlap of quantum theory with gravity and relativity is a rich field in which to search for answers to some of the biggest questions in physics today: namely how we transition from the quantum realm to the classical, and whether quantum physics and general relativity can ever be united into some grand theory of ‘quantum gravity.’

In this colloquium I first introduce some key aspects of our two pillar theories of 20th century physics, and show how they have informed my own work, and that of others using composite particles (e.g. atoms and molecules) to probe the quantum-and-gravity interface. I then discuss how thermodynamics may play a role in resolving (or complicating) the above queries.

I will also briefly touch upon my career path so far, from undergraduate at UQ who switched into physics from a different research field to postdoctoral researcher who now works across a few sub-fields of physics.

Carolyn Wood

Postdoctoral Scientist

Carolyn Wood is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia focusing on quantum machine learning and physics at the interface between quantum mechanics and general relativity.