Entropy in gravitational von Neumann algebras

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Event details

Date 23.09.2024
Hour 14:0015:15
Speaker Antony Speranza (University of Amsterdam)
Location Online
Category Conferences - Seminars
Event Language English

Entanglement entropy in quantum field theory is UV-divergent, which makes it a challenging quantity to analyze from an algebraic perspective.  In this talk, I will describe how perturbatively coupling to gravity improves this situation, resulting in a well-defined notion of renormalized entropy in the semiclassical limit.  This entropy is constructed using techniques from the theory of von Neumann algebras, and agrees with the generalized entropy of a subregion, consisting of the sum of the quantum field entanglement entropy and the area of the entangling surface.  As an application, I will show how to derive the generalized second law for black hole horizons in terms of this renormalized entropy.  Time permitting, I will also discuss a construction of a gravitational von Neumann algebra in a slow-roll inflation background, and describe how the background provides an intrinsic notion of a cosmological observer.  

Practical information

  • General public
  • Free

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  • LTFP

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