Erik Verlinde
This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. (March 2018) |
Erik Verlinde | |
---|---|
Born | Erik Peter Verlinde 21 January 1962 |
Nationality | Dutch |
Alma mater | Utrecht University |
Known for | Verlinde algebra Matrix string theory Entropic gravity Emergent gravity |
Awards | Spinoza Prize (2011) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Theoretical physics |
Institutions | |
Thesis | Conformal field theory and its application to strings (1988) |
Doctoral advisor | Bernard de Wit |
Doctoral students | Miranda Cheng |
Erik Peter Verlinde (Dutch:
At a symposium at the Dutch Spinoza-institute on December 8, 2009 he introduced a theory of
Biography
Erik Verlinde was born in the Dutch village of Woudenberg on 21 January 1962, together with his identical twin brother, Herman Verlinde.[5] He went to school in the nearby city of Utrecht, where he graduated from the gymnasium in 1980.
That fall he began his studies in theoretical physics together with his brother at Utrecht University. There he studied with his brother Herman, Robbert Dijkgraaf, and Kareljan Schoutens. He wrote his Master's thesis with Nobel laureate Gerard 't Hooft.[5]
In 1985, Verlinde started work on his PhD at Utrecht University under the formal supervision of
After his PhD, Verlinde joined the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton as a postdoctoral fellow. In 1993, he was added to the permanent staff of the theory division of CERN in Geneva. At the age of 34 he was appointed full professor of theoretical physics at Utrecht University. Only a few years later, in 1999, he left for Princeton University to take up a professorial position there. In 2003, he returned to the Netherlands to become a professor in the string theory group led by Robbert Dijkgraaf at the University of Amsterdam.[5][6][7]
Major contributions
Verlinde's main field of research is string theory. Over the years he has introduced a number of results that have become important in the development of the theory, and in the study of pure mathematics.
Verlinde formula
Verlinde's PhD thesis was titled “Conformal Field Theory Applied to Strings”. In it he investigated
Cardy formula extensions
The
Entropic gravity
In 2009, Verlinde showed that the laws of gravity may be derived by assuming a form of the holographic principle and the laws of thermodynamics.[11] This may imply that gravity is not a true fundamental force of nature (like e.g. electromagnetism), but instead is a consequence of the universe striving to maximize entropy.
Emergent gravity and the dark universe
On 8 November 2016 Erik Verlinde published his new theory of gravity, where gravity is not one of the four fundamental forces of physics but, rather, gravity is emergent from other fundamental forces.[1][12][13] In this work, he argues that unlike in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space, holography and the area law do not apply exactly in de Sitter space (which models our universe) because there is an additional entropy associated with the cosmological horizon. If this entropy were evenly distributed throughout space, it would contribute a volume law term to the entropy which becomes dominant at large length scales and is related to dark energy. He further argues that this entropy modifies emergent gravity, introducing residual forces when the acceleration due to gravity is very weak.[14] The result provides a candidate explanation for dark matter similar to the
Awards and honors
In June 2011, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) awarded Verlinde the Spinoza Prize, the highest award available to Dutch scientists including a 2.5 million euro grant for future research.[15] The committee cited his work on the Verlinde formula, the Witten–Dijkgraaf–Verlinde–Verlinde equations, the Cardy-Verlinde formula and entropic gravity as the major achievements leading to the award.
References
- ^ a b Ratner, Paul (14 August 2019). "Physicist advances a radical theory of gravity - Erik Verlinde has been compared to Einstein for completely rethinking the nature of gravity". Big Think. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
- ^ "University of Amsterdam homepage". 14 January 2020.
- ^ "De Volkskrant 27 January 2010" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ Koelman, Johannes. "It from bit: how to get rid of dark energy". Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
- ^ a b c d Verlinde, Erik. "Curriculum Vitae". Website of Erik Verlinde. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
- ^ a b "Erik Verlinde". NWO.
- ^ a b "Biografie Erik Verlinde". Quantum Universe.
- .
- ISBN 9783540686255.
- arXiv:hep-th/0008140.
- S2CID 3597565.
- ^ Wolchover, Natalie (29 November 2016). "Erik Verlinde's Gravity Minus Dark Matter". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ New theory of gravity might explain dark matter, E. P. Verlinde, 2016 Nov 8 Archived 11 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Erik P. Verlinde, Emergent Gravity and the Dark Universe, SciPost Phys. 2, 016 (2017)[1]
- ^ "NWO-Spinoza Laureates 2011". Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
External links
- University of Amsterdam faculty page
- Blog on Verlinde's publication 'On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton
- Blog discussing Verlinde's holographic derivation of Newtonian gravity
- A Scientist Takes On Gravity
- Erik Verlinde Archived 28 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine on INSPIRE-HEP
- It from bit and fit from bit. On the origin and impact of information in the average evolution (Yves Decadt, 2000). Book published in Dutch with English paper summary in The Information Philosopher
- A New View on Gravity and the Dark Side of the Cosmos - lecture by Dr.Verlinde at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics on Oct. 4th 2017.