Abstract
This contribution is a status report on a research program aimed at obtaining quantum-gravitational physics inside a cosmological horizon through dS/CFT, i.e. through a holographic description at past/future infinity of de Sitter space. The program aims to bring together two main elements. The first is the observation by Anninos, Hartman and Strominger that Vasiliev’s higher-spin gravity provides a working model for dS/CFT in 3+1 dimensions. The second is the proposal by Parikh, Savonije and Verlinde that dS/CFT may prove more tractable if one works in so-called “elliptic” de Sitter space – a folded-in-half version of global de Sitter where antipodal points have been identified. We review some relevant progress concerning quantum field theory on elliptic de Sitter space, higher-spin gravity and its holographic duality with a free vector model. We present our reasons for optimism that the approach outlined here will lead to a full holographic description of quantum (higher-spin) gravity in the causal patch of a de Sitter observer.
Highlights
This contribution is a status report on a research program aimed at obtaining quantum-gravitational physics inside a cosmological horizon through dS/conformal field theory (CFT), i.e. through a holographic description at past/future infinity of de Sitter space
At around the same time that anti-de Sitter (AdS)/CFT was discovered by theorists, astronomical observations [4, 5] have falsified its core premise: it appears that our Universe has a cosmological constant of the “wrong sign”, i.e. Λ > 0
Due to the way in which holography interchanges UV and IR, we find a crucial dependence of the theory on Λ, i.e. on the behavior of spacetime at the largest distances
Summary
Global de Sitter space is the hyperboloid of constant spacelike radius in the ambient flat spacetime R1,4: dS 4 = xμ ∈ R1,4 | xμ xμ = 1. The asymptotes to this hyperboloid are the past-pointing and future-pointing null directions in R1,4. The idea is to fold de Sitter space in half, in the unique way that preserves its full symmetry group O(1, 4). The folded-in-half spacetime dS 4/Z2 is known as elliptic de Sitter space; the word “elliptic” refers to the spacelike separation between the identified pairs of points ±xμ. This may allow us to evade the conflict between the causal structure and bulk perturbations
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
