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SUMMARY:Quantum Conformal Gravity
DTSTART:20181122T113000
DTEND:20181122T130000
DTSTAMP:20260427T233052Z
UID:0c3ea84f9094c5339333f5700c4c06c1335fbfb75f28299c23ccd111
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Philip Mannheim (University of Connecticut)\nConformal s
 ymmetry is a natural symmetry in physics since it is the full symmetry of 
 the light cone. If all particles are to get their masses by symmetry break
 ing then conformal symmetry is the symmetry of the unbroken Lagrangian. Li
 ke Yang-Mills theories conformal symmetry has a local extension\, namely c
 onformal gravity\, a pure metric-based candidate alternative to the non-co
 nformal invariant standard Newton-Einstein theory of gravity. With its dim
 ensionless coupling constant quantum conformal gravity is power counting r
 enormalizable. Since its equations of motion are fourth-order derivative e
 quations conformal gravity has long been thought to possess unacceptable g
 host states of negative norm that would violate unitarity. However on cons
 tructing the quantum Hilbert space Bender and Mannheim found that this not
  to be the case. Conformal gravity is thus offered as a completely consist
 ent and unitary quantum theory of gravity\, one that requires neither the 
 extra dimensions nor the supersymmetry of string theory. As formulated via
  local conformal invariance there is no intrinsic classical gravity\, with
  gravity instead being intrinsically quantum-mechanical\, with the observe
 d classical gravity being output rather than input. The contribution of th
 e graviton loops of conformal gravity enables conformal gravity to solve t
 he cosmological constant problem. Like Yang-Mills the potential of conform
 al gravity contains both a Newtonian term and a linear potential. Together
  with a quadratic potential that the theory also contains conformal gravit
 y is able to explain the systematics of galactic rotation curves  without
  any need for galactic dark matter. Since all mass is to be dynamical ther
 e cannot be a fundamental double-well Higgs potential in the theory. Inste
 ad\, the Higgs boson is generated dynamically\, with the hierarchy problem
  then being solved.
LOCATION:BSP 234 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==BSP%20234
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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