The proceedings of the First Iberian Meeting on Gravity give a broad view of the most recent research on gravity. Black hole thermodynamics, wormhole solutions and covariant path integral quantization are some of the topics discussed. The mainstream approaches to quantum gravity, such as loop space quantization and string theories, are presented. Also included are the trendy subjects of two-dimensional quantum gravity and unitary matrix models.
The Sixth Moscow Quantum Gravity Seminar was a continuation of the series of seminars which has played an important role in the consolidation of the international quantum gravity community and which has greatly affected the development of the field. As well as papers presented at the conference, this proceedings volume includes the papers of invited speakers who were unable to attend the seminar itself.
It is not an exaggeration to say that one of the most exciting predictions of Einstein's theory of gravitation is that there may exist "black holes": putative objects whose gravitational fields are so strong that no physical bodies or signals can break free of their pull and escape. The proof that black holes do exist, and an analysis of their properties, would have a significance going far beyond astrophysics. Indeed, what is involved is not just the discovery of yet another even if extremely remarkable, astro physical object, but a test of the correctness of our understanding of the properties of space and time in extremely strong gravitational fields. Theoretical research into the properties of black holes, and into the possible corol laries of the hypothesis that they exist, has been carried out with special vigor since the beginning of the 1970's. In addition to those specific features of black holes that are important for the interpretation of their possible astrophysical manifestations, the theory has revealed a number of unexpected characteristics of physical interactions involving black holes. By the middle of the 1980's a fairly detailed understanding had been achieved of the properties of the black holes, their possible astrophysical manifestations, and the specifics of the various physical processes involved. Even though a completely reliable detection of a black hole had not yet been made at that time, several objects among those scrutinized by astrophysicists were considered as strong candidates to be confirmed as being black holes.
The principles of gauge symmetry and quantization are fundamental to modern understanding of the laws of electromagnetism, weak and strong subatomic forces and the theory of general relativity. Ideal for graduate students and researchers in theoretical and mathematical physics, this unique book provides a systematic introduction to Hamiltonian mechanics of systems with gauge symmetry. The book reveals how gauge symmetry may lead to a non-trivial geometry of the physical phase space and studies its effect on quantum dynamics by path integral methods. It also covers aspects of Hamiltonian path integral formalism in detail, along with a number of related topics such as the theory of canonical transformations on phase space supermanifolds, non-commutativity of canonical quantization and elimination of non-physical variables. The discussion is accompanied by numerous detailed examples of dynamical models with gauge symmetries, clearly illustrating the key concepts.
This international conference focussed on several exciting frontier areas of particle physics at energy scales not realizable in terrestrial accelerators and their significance in the fields of astrophysics and cosmology. The topics discussed included physics beyond the standard model, violations of discrete symmetries, neutrino physics, neutrino astronomy, experimental detection of dark matter, gravitation and feebler new forces, cosmic rays, etc. Some of the highlights are the latest results from the Kamiokande neutrino detector and status reports on experimental facilities under commission to detect solar and atmospheric neutrinos, WIMP's and dark matter candidates.
