28 September 2026 to 2 October 2026
Kavli IPMU
Asia/Tokyo timezone

Cosmological Uncertainty Relation and Late-Universe Acceleration

30 Sept 2026, 16:30
15m
Lecture Hall (Kavli IPMU)

Lecture Hall

Kavli IPMU

Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, The University of Tokyo 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8583, Japan

Speaker

Savvas Koushiappas

Description

The standard cosmological model lacks a microphysical origin for cosmic acceleration, while recent observations show hints of dynamical dark energy. Quantum gravitational corrections are conventionally assumed to be confined to the Planck scale, but quantum kinematic principles—much like the Heisenberg uncertainty principle—can influence dynamics across macroscopic scales. I will discuss a novel kinematic principle in minisuperspace: the size of the universe and its rate of expansion cannot be simultaneously specified with arbitrary precision. This is implemented by deforming the velocity-configuration commutation $[a,\dot{a}]$. This framework (similar to the holographic principle) implies that quantum gravity does not decouple at low energies but rather, the deformation parameter tracks the cosmological horizon scale. Cosmic acceleration therefore emerges as the macroscopic imprint of quantum gravity operating at the cosmological horizon.

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