Location
MC 6460
Candidate
Boris Ragula | Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo
Title
A computational approach to understanding gravitational backreaction in semiclassical gravity
Abstract
General relativity (GR), governed by the Einstein Field Equations, elegantly links the geometry of spacetime to the distribution of energy and momentum. It has successfully explained all observed gravitational phenomena, from planetary motion to gravitational waves, and even underlies technologies like GPS. Yet, GR also predicts exotic spacetimes, such as naked singularities, closed timelike curves, and Alcubierre-type warp drives, which require regions of negative energy that violate the weak energy condition (WEC).
Quantum field theory (QFT), the modern framework for matter and energy at microscopic scales, allows for such WEC violations in specific quantum systems, producing local negative energy densities. My project explores how these quantum states gravitate by combining numerical relativity with quantum field theory in curved spacetime. The goal is to develop computational models that simulate the backreaction of negative energy density distributions on spacetime geometry. This unification will offer new insight into whether exotic geometries like warp drives could arise from realistic quantum matter.