Humankind has long sought to understand the fundamental forces of our universe. During the last century, a field known as quantum mechanics sparked a tremendous shift in our outlook regarding these forces. Since then, the mission to unravel the quantum nature of gravity has become a prime quest of theoretical physics.
In this research project, we began our exploration of the quantum nature of gravity. Our approach was to investigate the quantum gravitational interaction by analogy with a comparable phenomenon of electromagnetism, using known symmetries between these forces. Our desired phenomenon was discovered to be a modified proton-electron scattering.
We next examined the theory behind simple graviton exchange and used this mathematical formalism to re-derive familiar elements of classical physics. As a precursor to understanding this quantum interaction, we considered classical gravitational scattering between masses. By analyzing this scattering under assumptions (made in parallel with our proton-electron scattering), we wrote a novel computer program, modeling the behavior of classical gravity.
We furthermore concluded that the analogy between gravitational scattering and proton-electron scattering extends when both systems are quantized. Future research can thus build on this project to better understand quantum gravity through the formalisms and model developed during the research.
- Paper Presentation
- Physics, Mathematics
How does gravity behave at the microscopic level? This research project presents an original method of understanding the quantum gravitational action, by analogy with electromagnetic proton-electron scattering. Additionally, the author created a novel computer code to describe gravitational scattering for use in future study of quantum gravity.
As an orthodox Jewish student, I am unable to attend the Saturday morning (March 28) presentations, and I respectfully request that I be allowed to present my honors research on Sunday (March 29); thank you for your consideration.