Rafael Dolnick Sorkin (born c. 1945) is an American
physicist. He is
professor emeritus of
physics at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
and the
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, and a Fellow of the
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...
. He is best known as initiator and main proponent of the
causal sets approach to
quantum gravity
Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics; it deals with environments in which neither gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the vi ...
.
Biography
Sorkin grew up in
Chicago, Illinois, and was educated at the
New Trier Township High School (
valedictorian, 1963),
Harvard University (A.B., Summa Cum Laude,
Phi Beta Kappa, 1966), and
California Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1974). He is the son of the American violinist
Leonard Sorkin Leonard Sorkin (January 12, 1916 – June 7, 1985) was an American violinist.
Sorkin was born in Chicago in 1916. He received violin training from Mischa Mischakoff. At the age of 18, he joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where he remained ...
.
Research interests
Sorkin believes that the successful solution of
quantum gravity
Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics; it deals with environments in which neither gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the vi ...
will involve both a reevaluation of
gravity in terms of a discrete structure underlying continuous
spacetime, and also a reformulation of
quantum mechanics. He also hypothesises that the phenomena of topology change and the
thermodynamics of the
black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravitation, gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other Electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape it. The theory of general relativity predicts t ...
structure provide important clues to the formation of the final synthesis. In this framework he has examined the quantum properties of topological
geons Geon may refer to:
*Geon (geology), a time interval
* Geon (Korean name), a Korean masculine given name
*Geon (physics), a hypothetical gravitational wave packet
*Geon (psychology), a geometrical primitive out of which everyday objects can be repre ...
(particles created directly from the spacetime
topology). His findings include that the topological geons can exhibit remarkable statistical properties. He also discovered evidence that topology change is a required feature of any consistent
quantum gravity theory
Quantum gravity (QG) is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics; it deals with environments in which neither gravitational nor quantum effects can be ignored, such as in the vi ...
. He has hunted the origin of a
black hole's entropy to discover more about how it relates to the synthesis of
quantum mechanics and the theory of
general relativity.
He also introduced
anhomomorphic logic, a new interpretation of quantum theory.
See also
*
Causal sets
External links
Sorkin's homepage at the Perimeter InstituteSorkin's preprints at arXivGeometry from order: causal sets* Non-technical text by Sorkin o
Einstein Online
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Theoretical physicists
21st-century American physicists
New Trier High School alumni
Harvard University alumni
California Institute of Technology alumni
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Syracuse University faculty
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