Public Lecture: The Cool Alter-Ego of a Black Hole

Black holes are fascinating objects predicted by the general theory of relativity. They are spacetime geometries where the flow of time is distorted in a major way. Stephen Hawking showed that quantum mechanics implies that black holes emit thermal radiation, so they are not completely black. Maldacena and Stanford will explain and review these results, which have inspired many further developments. As an example, they will discuss how information sent using the quantum mechanical phenomenon of teleportation translates into a trip through a wormhole connecting two black holes.

Juan Maldacena, Carl P. Feinberg Professor, School of Natural Sciences

Douglas Stanford, Member, School of Natural Sciences

IAS Director and Leon Levy Professor Robbert Dijkgraaf will moderate a panel discussion.