De Sitter Horizon Edge Partition FunctionsConfirmed

by Albert Law (Stanford University)

Thursday Apr 24, 2025, 2:30 p.m. → 4:00 p.m. America/Toronto

PI/4-405 - Bob Room (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

Discrepancies between Lorentzian and Euclidean calculations of quantum corrections to de Sitter horizon thermodynamics revealed the existence of ‘edge’ degrees of freedom on the horizon. In this talk, I will review these calculations and present updates on understanding the physics of such edge modes in both gauge theories and (higher-spin) gravity. For Einstein gravity, I will discuss a plausible interpretation involving an embedded spherical brane. Finally, I will comment on how these ideas extend to more general black hole spacetimes.