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Workshop on Physics with a Positive Cosmological Constant

May 9 - 11, 2012
108 Wartik Lab

Workshop Proceedings


Wednesday, May 9
Time Topic Speaker
  8:50 -   9:00 Welcome Murat Gunaydin
  9:00 - 10:15 Cosmology vs Equilibrium    [Slides]   |  [Toy Model 2a]   |  [Toy Model 2b] Andreas Albrecht
UC, Davis
10:45 - 12:00 Perturbative Stability of de Sitter Space    [Slides] Richard Holman
Carnegia Mellon University
  1:30 -   2:45 The IR Behavior of dS QFT: Bulk Unitarity and Conformal Dimensions in dS/CFT    [Slides] Don Marolf
UC, Santa Barbara
  2:45 -   4:00 From the Big Bounce to the Near de Sitter Slow Roll    [Slides] Abhay Ashtekar
Penn State
  4:30 -   5:45 Computing the Wave-Function of the Universe in 2+1 Dimensions    [Slides] Alex Maloney
McGill University
Thursday, May 10
Time Topic Speaker
  9:00 - 10:15 Testing for Alternatives to a Positive Cosmological Constant    [Slides] Rachel Bean
Cornell University
10:45 - 12:00 What Can Quantum Field Theory Teach Us about the Origin and Consequences of a Positive Cosmological Constant? [Slides] Stefan Hollands
Cardiff University
  1:30 -   2:45 Constraining Gravity Theories with Higher Spin Particles
Juan Maldacena
Institute for Advanced Study
  2:45 -   4:00 Elusive Semi-Classical de Sitter Vacua    [Slides] Marco Zagermann
Leibniz University
  4:30 -   5:45 The dS/dS Correspondence    [Slides] Eva Silverstein
Stanford University
Friday, May 11
Time Topic Speaker
  9:00 - 10:15 Loop Gravity, Spin Foams and the Cosmological Constant    [Slides] Eugenio Bianchi
Perimeter Institute
10:45 - 12:00 Discussion Session - Quantum Field Theory on Cosmological Backgrounds and Related Issues
Moderator: Stefan Hollands
  1:30 -   2:45 The Quantum Theory of Stable de Sitter Space    [Slides] Tom Banks
UC Santa Cruz
  2:45 -   4:00 Brane Back-Reaction as a No-Go Antidote: How to get de Sitter (and flat) Space When You Think You Shouldn't    [Slides] Cliff Burgess
McMaster Univ/Perimeter Institute
  4:30 -   5:45 Discussion Session - Stability of de Sitter Backgrounds and Related Issues
Moderator: Sarah Shandera

Workshop sponsored by the Center for Fundamental Theory

Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University