ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Allan Adams - Theoretical physicist
Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory.

Why you should listen

Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory. His research in theoretical physics focuses on string theory both as a model of quantum gravity and as a strong-coupling description of non-gravitational systems.

Like water, string theory enjoys many distinct phases in which the low-energy phenomena take qualitatively different forms. In its most familiar phases, string theory reduces to a perturbative theory of quantum gravity. These phases are useful for studying, for example, the resolution of singularities in classical gravity, or the set of possibilities for the geometry and fields of spacetime. Along these lines, Adams is particularly interested in microscopic quantization of flux vacua, and in the search for constraints on low-energy physics derived from consistency of the stringy UV completion.

In other phases, when the gravitational interactions become strong and a smooth spacetime geometry ceases to be a good approximation, a more convenient description of string theory may be given in terms of a weakly-coupled non-gravitational quantum field theory. Remarkably, these two descriptions—with and without gravity—appear to be completely equivalent, with one remaining weakly-coupled when its dual is strongly interacting. This equivalence, known as gauge-gravity duality, allows us to study strongly-coupled string and quantum field theories by studying perturbative features of their weakly-coupled duals. Gauge-gravity duals have already led to interesting predictions for the quark-gluon plasma studied at RHIC. A major focus of Adams's present research is to use such dualities to find weakly-coupled descriptions of strongly-interacting condensed matter systems which can be realized in the lab.
More profile about the speaker
Allan Adams | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Allan Adams: The discovery that could rewrite physics

艾倫.亞當斯: 能改寫物理的發現

Filmed:
1,865,923 views

在2014年3月17日,一群物理學家宣佈了一個令人振奮的發現:宇宙暴漲概念的數據證據,同時也是宇宙大爆炸的一條線索。對非物理學家而言,這是什麽意思?TED 邀請艾倫.亞當斯在這個即興演講中簡要地解釋這樣的發現,插圖由 xkcd 的蘭德爾.門羅繪製。
- Theoretical physicist
Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
If you look deep into the night sky天空,
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如果你望著深夜的天空,
00:16
you see stars明星,
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你就會看到星星,
00:18
and if you look further進一步, you see more stars明星,
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而且如果你看的更遠,
就能看到更多的星星,
00:20
and further進一步, galaxies星系, and
further進一步, more galaxies星系.
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更遠點,就能看到一些星系,
再遠點,更多星系。
00:22
But if you keep looking further進一步 and further進一步,
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但是如果你朝著更遠的地方看,
00:26
eventually終於 you see nothing for a long while,
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會有很長的一段時間,
你什麽也看不見。
00:29
and then finally最後 you see a
faint, fading衰退 afterglow餘輝,
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最終你會看到一個模糊、褪色的餘暉,
00:34
and it's the afterglow餘輝 of the Big Bang.
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這就是大爆炸後的餘暉。
00:37
Now, the Big Bang was an era時代 in the early universe宇宙
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大爆炸是宇宙初始的一個時代,
00:40
when everything we see in the night sky天空
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現在我們在夜空中看到的所有東西
00:42
was condensed冷凝 into an incredibly令人難以置信 small,
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都濃縮於一個不可思議小的、
00:44
incredibly令人難以置信 hot, incredibly令人難以置信 roiling橫搖 mass,
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極其熱的、不停翻滾的質體,
00:48
and from it sprung彈性 everything we see.
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我們看到的所有東西,便是從這裡釋放出來的。
00:51
Now, we've我們已經 mapped映射 that afterglow餘輝
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我們已精確地勘測到了那片餘暉,
00:54
with great precision精確,
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00:56
and when I say we, I mean people who aren't me.
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當我說「我們」的時候,
我指的是除我之外的人。
00:58
We've我們已經 mapped映射 the afterglow餘輝
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我們已經繪製了那些餘暉的地圖,
01:00
with spectacular壯觀 precision精確,
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使用了驚人的精度,
01:01
and one of the shocks震盪 about it
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令人驚訝的就是這些餘暉幾乎是完全相同的。
01:02
is that it's almost幾乎 completely全然 uniform制服.
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01:05
Fourteen十四 billion十億 light years年份 that way
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從那個方向140億光年之外
01:07
and 14 billion十億 light years年份 that way,
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以及從那個方向140億光年之外,
01:09
it's the same相同 temperature溫度.
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有著相同的溫度。
01:11
Now it's been 14 billion十億 years年份
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從大爆炸開始算起,
如今已經有14億年。
01:14
since以來 that Big Bang,
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01:16
and so it's got faint and cold.
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所以它已開始變得模糊、變冷。
01:18
It's now 2.7 degrees.
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現在只有2.7度。
01:21
But it's not exactly究竟 2.7 degrees.
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但並不恰好是2.7度。
01:23
It's only 2.7 degrees to about
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僅僅只有百億分之十是2.7度。
01:25
10 parts部分 in a million百萬.
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在那裡,稍微熱一點;
在那裡,稍微冷一點。
01:27
Over here, it's a little hotter,
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01:28
and over there, it's a little cooler冷卻器,
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01:30
and that's incredibly令人難以置信 important重要
to everyone大家 in this room房間,
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這對在場的每一位都極其重要,
01:33
because where it was a little hotter,
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因為在稍微熱一點的地方,
01:35
there was a little more stuff東東,
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那裡有更多的物體,
01:36
and where there was a little more stuff東東,
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當那裡有更多的物體時,
01:38
we have galaxies星系 and clusters集群 of galaxies星系
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我們就能觀測到星系、
星系團、超星系團,
01:40
and superclusters超星系團
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01:41
and all the structure結構體 you see in the cosmos宇宙.
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以及你觀測到的所有宇宙結構。
01:44
And those small, little, inhomogeneities不均勻性,
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這些小型的、少量的、不均勻的,
01:47
20 parts部分 in a million百萬,
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占了百億分之二十,
01:49
those were formed形成 by quantum量子 mechanical機械 wiggles
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這些是由量子力學的產生的扭力形成的,
01:52
in that early universe宇宙 that were stretched拉伸
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在宇宙的初期,它們被拉伸
01:54
across橫過 the size尺寸 of the entire整個 cosmos宇宙.
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穿過了整個宇宙的大小。
01:56
That is spectacular壯觀,
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這是十分壯觀的,
01:58
and that's not what they found發現 on Monday星期一;
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而且這並不是他們週一發現的,
01:59
what they found發現 on Monday星期一 is cooler冷卻器.
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他們週一的發現更加驚人。
02:02
So here's這裡的 what they found發現 on Monday星期一:
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這就是他們週一的發現:
02:04
Imagine想像 you take a bell,
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想像你帶著一口鐘,
02:07
and you whack重打 the bell with a hammer錘子.
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你用鐵錘猛擊這口鐘。
02:09
What happens發生? It rings戒指.
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會發生什麽事?它會響。
02:11
But if you wait, that ringing鈴聲 fades
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但是如果你接著等,聲音就會減小,
02:13
and fades and fades
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減小並且減小,
02:14
until直到 you don't notice注意 it anymore.
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直到你聽不見為止。
02:16
Now, that early universe宇宙 was incredibly令人難以置信 dense稠密,
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早期的宇宙密集的不可思議,
02:19
like a metal金屬, way denser更密集,
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甚至比金屬還密集,
02:21
and if you hit擊中 it, it would ring,
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如果你撞擊它,它會產生聲音,
02:23
but the thing ringing鈴聲 would be
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但是物體產生聲音就是
02:25
the structure結構體 of space-time時空 itself本身,
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就是時空結構本身,
02:27
and the hammer錘子 would be quantum量子 mechanics機械學.
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這時的鐵錘就是量子力學。
02:30
What they found發現 on Monday星期一
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他們週一所發現的
02:32
was evidence證據 of the ringing鈴聲
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就是早期宇宙時空產生的
02:35
of the space-time時空 of the early universe宇宙,
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響聲的證據,
02:37
what we call gravitational引力 waves波浪
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我們叫做引力波,
02:39
from the fundamental基本的 era時代,
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來自一個基礎的時代,
02:40
and here's這裡的 how they found發現 it.
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現在我來解釋他們如何發現的。
02:42
Those waves波浪 have long since以來 faded褪色.
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這些波已消退很長的一段時間。
02:45
If you go for a walk步行,
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如果你出門散步,
02:46
you don't wiggle擺動.
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你並不會擺來擺去。
02:48
Those gravitational引力 waves波浪 in the structure結構體 of space空間
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這些在宇宙結構中的引力波
02:50
are totally完全 invisible無形 for all practical實際的 purposes目的.
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在實際用途中是完全感受不到的。
02:53
But early on, when the universe宇宙 was making製造
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但是在早期的宇宙,當宇宙還在形成
02:56
that last afterglow餘輝,
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最後的餘暉時,
02:58
the gravitational引力 waves波浪
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引力波
03:00
put little twists曲折 in the structure結構體
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在可見光的結構中產生了扭曲
03:03
of the light that we see.
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03:04
So by looking at the night sky天空 deeper更深 and deeper更深 --
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所以透過對更遠以外夜晚天空的觀察,
03:07
in fact事實, these guys spent花費
three years年份 on the South Pole
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事實上,
這些人在南極花了三年的時間,
03:10
looking straight直行 up through通過 the coldest最冷, clearest最明顯,
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透過了他們能找的最冷、最清楚、
03:13
cleanest乾淨 air空氣 they possibly或者 could find
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最乾淨空氣進行直接觀察,
03:15
looking deep into the night sky天空 and studying研究
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望著天空最深的地方並且進行研究
03:17
that glow輝光 and looking for the faint twists曲折
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光暈以及尋找消退的扭曲,
03:21
which哪一個 are the symbol符號, the signal信號,
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這個信號就是引力波的標誌,
03:23
of gravitational引力 waves波浪,
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03:25
the ringing鈴聲 of the early universe宇宙.
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早起宇宙的響聲。
03:27
And on Monday星期一, they announced公佈
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並且在週一,他們宣佈
03:29
that they had found發現 it.
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他們已經找到了。
03:31
And the thing that's so spectacular壯觀 about that to me
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我對這件事感到震驚的原因
03:33
is not just the ringing鈴聲, though雖然 that is awesome真棒.
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並不因為是這個響聲,
儘管這個已經很棒了。
03:36
The thing that's totally完全 amazing驚人,
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這件事如此不可思議,
03:37
the reason原因 I'm on this stage階段, is because
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以致於讓我站在這裡的原因,在於
03:39
what that tells告訴 us is something
deep about the early universe宇宙.
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這個發現
告訴了我們早期宇宙深處的一些東西。
03:43
It tells告訴 us that we
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它告訴我們
03:44
and everything we see around us
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我們現在身邊所看到的一切東西
03:46
are basically基本上 one large bubble泡沫 --
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其實是個極大的泡泡,
03:49
and this is the idea理念 of inflation通貨膨脹
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這就是宇宙暴漲的概念,
03:51
one large bubble泡沫 surrounded包圍 by something else其他.
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一個被其他東西所包圍的極大泡泡。
03:55
This isn't conclusive確鑿 evidence證據 for inflation通貨膨脹,
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這並不是宇宙暴漲的決定性證據,
03:57
but anything that isn't inflation通貨膨脹 that explains說明 this
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但其它解釋這情況卻非宇宙暴漲的東西
03:59
will look the same相同.
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看起來就長這樣。
04:00
This is a theory理論, an idea理念,
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這是一個理論、一個想法,
04:02
that has been around for a while,
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已經存在了一段時間了,
04:03
and we never thought we we'd星期三 really see it.
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我們從未覺得我們能觀察的到。
04:05
For good reasons原因, we thought we'd星期三 never see
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我們有充分的理由,認為永遠看不到
04:07
killer兇手 evidence證據, and this is killer兇手 evidence證據.
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關鍵的證據,而這就是關鍵證據。
04:09
But the really crazy idea理念
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但真正令人瘋狂的想法是,
04:11
is that our bubble泡沫 is just one bubble泡沫
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我們的泡泡只是其中一個
04:14
in a much larger, roiling橫搖 pot of universal普遍 stuff東東.
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存在於一個更大、攪動的宇宙體系中。
04:18
We're never going to see the stuff東東 outside,
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我們從未觀察到這之外的東西,
04:20
but by going to the South Pole
and spending開支 three years年份
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但是透過在南極花費了三年時間,
04:23
looking at the detailed詳細 structure結構體 of the night sky天空,
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觀察著夜空結構的細節,
04:25
we can figure數字 out
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我們可以發現
04:27
that we're probably大概 in a universe宇宙
that looks容貌 kind of like that.
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我們可能生存在一個像這樣的宇宙。
04:30
And that amazes驚訝 me.
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這就是讓我覺得驚奇的地方。
04:33
Thanks謝謝 a lot.
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謝謝大家
04:34
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Thunder Song
Reviewed by Adrienne Lin

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Allan Adams - Theoretical physicist
Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory.

Why you should listen

Allan Adams is a theoretical physicist working at the intersection of fluid dynamics, quantum field theory and string theory. His research in theoretical physics focuses on string theory both as a model of quantum gravity and as a strong-coupling description of non-gravitational systems.

Like water, string theory enjoys many distinct phases in which the low-energy phenomena take qualitatively different forms. In its most familiar phases, string theory reduces to a perturbative theory of quantum gravity. These phases are useful for studying, for example, the resolution of singularities in classical gravity, or the set of possibilities for the geometry and fields of spacetime. Along these lines, Adams is particularly interested in microscopic quantization of flux vacua, and in the search for constraints on low-energy physics derived from consistency of the stringy UV completion.

In other phases, when the gravitational interactions become strong and a smooth spacetime geometry ceases to be a good approximation, a more convenient description of string theory may be given in terms of a weakly-coupled non-gravitational quantum field theory. Remarkably, these two descriptions—with and without gravity—appear to be completely equivalent, with one remaining weakly-coupled when its dual is strongly interacting. This equivalence, known as gauge-gravity duality, allows us to study strongly-coupled string and quantum field theories by studying perturbative features of their weakly-coupled duals. Gauge-gravity duals have already led to interesting predictions for the quark-gluon plasma studied at RHIC. A major focus of Adams's present research is to use such dualities to find weakly-coupled descriptions of strongly-interacting condensed matter systems which can be realized in the lab.
More profile about the speaker
Allan Adams | Speaker | TED.com