{ "meta": { "api_type": "NWO Projects API", "version": "1.0.2", "licence": { "name": "CC0 1.0 Universal", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0", "description": "To the extent possible under law, all copyright and related or neighbouring rights have been waived worldwide to the data made available through this API." }, "documentation": "https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14918287", "release_date": "2025-08-20T00:00:00", "funder": "https://doi.org/10.13039/501100003246", "ror_id": "https://ror.org/04jsz6e67", "date": "2026-11-05T00:00:00", "count": 1, "per_page": 100, "pages": 1, "page": 1 }, "projects": [ { "project_id": "680-47-413", "title": "Quantum Astrometric Observables: Phenomenology of Quantum Gravity at Low Curvature", "funding_scheme_id": 470, "funding_scheme": "NWO-Talentprogramma Veni 2010 N", "department": "Exacte en Natuurwetenschappen", "sub_department": "Natuurkunde", "start_date": "2011-01-01T00:00:00", "end_date": "2014-04-24T00:00:00", "reporting_year": 2010, "summary_nl": "The overall aim of my research is to address challenging conceptual puzzles inherent in a successful formulation of a theory of Quantum Gravity, such as a proper formulation of causality and identification of its experimental signatures. Quantum Gravity, nearly a century old challenge, is the unification of Quantum Mechanics with Einstein's spacetime theory of Gravity. It is also a frontier of our theoretical understanding of the universe, which we approach the more we learn about it through cosmological observations and high energy experiments.\n\nI want to study gravity using high-energy physics tools, but in the weak curvature regime, where the conceptual puzzles remain, but most other technical difficulties are eliminated. In this framework, I define a class of quantities amenable to direct calculation; I call them quantum astrometric observables. This class has a definite experimental interpretation and is rich enough to be sensitive to the causal structure of spacetime, capturing any novel quantum effects. The insights gained in this context are expected to shed light on the same problems in more encompasing strong curvature regimes, which include Big Bang and black hole singularities.\n\nThe proposed research program builds on techniques developed and insights gained from many decades of work in the separate fields of relativistic astronomy and cosmology, effective field theory of high-energy and low-temperature physics, and weak curvature gravity. With my background in computational, condensed matter, gravitational, and high-energy physics, I am in a unique position to take advantage of the very recent realization that cross-fertilization of these ideas can lead to significant progress in meeting the challenges of constructing a theory of Quantum Gravity.", "summary_en": "The overall aim of my research is to address challenging conceptual puzzles inherent in a successful formulation of a theory of Quantum Gravity, such as a proper formulation of causality and identification of its experimental signatures. Quantum Gravity, nearly a century old challenge, is the unification of Quantum Mechanics with Einstein's spacetime theory of Gravity. It is also a frontier of our theoretical understanding of the universe, which we approach the more we learn about it through cosmological observations and high energy experiments.\n\nI want to study gravity using high-energy physics tools, but in the weak curvature regime, where the conceptual puzzles remain, but most other technical difficulties are eliminated. In this framework, I define a class of quantities amenable to direct calculation; I call them quantum astrometric observables. This class has a definite experimental interpretation and is rich enough to be sensitive to the causal structure of spacetime, capturing any novel quantum effects. The insights gained in this context are expected to shed light on the same problems in more encompasing strong curvature regimes, which include Big Bang and black hole singularities.\n\nThe proposed research program builds on techniques developed and insights gained from many decades of work in the separate fields of relativistic astronomy and cosmology, effective field theory of high-energy and low-temperature physics, and weak curvature gravity. With my background in computational, condensed matter, gravitational, and high-energy physics, I am in a unique position to take advantage of the very recent realization that cross-fertilization of these ideas can lead to significant progress in meeting the challenges of constructing a theory of Quantum Gravity.", "project_members": [ { "role": "Researcher", "member_id": 220336, "last_name": "Khavkine", "degree_pre_nominal": "dr.", "initials": "I.", "first_name": "Igor", "organisation": "Universiteit Utrecht||Instituut voor Theoretische Fysica", "organisation_id": 48987, "ror": "https://ror.org/04pp8hn57", "active": false }, { "role": "Project leader", "member_id": 220336, "last_name": "Khavkine", "degree_pre_nominal": "dr.", "initials": "I.", "first_name": "Igor", "organisation": "Università di Trento||Dipartimento di Matematica", "organisation_id": 52256, "ror": "-", "active": false }, { "role": "Main Applicant", "member_id": 220336, "last_name": "Khavkine", "degree_pre_nominal": "dr.", "initials": "I.", "first_name": "Igor", "organisation": "Università di Trento||Dipartimento di Matematica", "organisation_id": 52256, "ror": "-", "active": true } ], "products": [ { "title": "Quantum astrometric observables II: time delay in linearized quantum gravity", "year": 2014, "type": "Overige Output", "authors": [ { "last_name": "Bonga", "initials": "B", "first_name": "Béatrice", "role": "Maker", "index_number": 1 }, { "last_name": "Khavkine", "initials": "I", "first_name": "Igor", "role": "Maker", "index_number": 2 } ] }, { "title": "Characteristics, Conal Geometry and Causality in Locally Covariant Field Theory", "year": 2012, "edition": "1211", "start": 1, "end": 108, "type": "Wetenschappelijk artikel", "url_open_access": "http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.1914", "journal_title": "arXiv", "authors": [ { "last_name": "Khavkine", "initials": "I", "first_name": "Igor", "role": "Auteur", "index_number": 1 } ] }, { "title": "Topology, rigid cosymmetries and linearization instability in higher gauge theories", "year": 2013, "edition": "1303", "start": 1, "end": 32, "type": "Wetenschappelijk artikel", "url_open_access": "http://arxiv.org/abs/1303.2406", "journal_title": "arXiv (submitted to Annales Henri Poincare)", "authors": [ { "last_name": "Khavkine", "initials": "I", "first_name": "Igor", "role": "Auteur", "index_number": 1 } ] }, { "title": "Presymplectic current and the inverse problem of the calculus of variations", "year": 2013, "edition": "54", "start": 111502, "end": 111502, "type": "Wetenschappelijk artikel", "journal_title": "Journal of Mathematical Physics", "authors": [ { "last_name": "Khavkine", "initials": "I", "first_name": "Igor", "role": "Auteur", "index_number": 1 } ] }, { "title": "Quantum astrometric observables: time delay in classical and quantum gravity", "year": 2012, "edition": "85", "start": 124014, "end": 124014, "type": "Wetenschappelijk artikel", "journal_title": "Physical Review D", "authors": [ { "last_name": "Khavkine", "initials": "I", "first_name": "Igor", "role": "Auteur", "index_number": 1 } ] }, { "title": "Characteristic geometry and causality in locally covariant field theory", "year": 2011, "type": "Overige Output", "url_open_access": "http://www2.pv.infn.it/~aqft11/slides/Khavkine.pdf", "authors": [ { "last_name": "Khavkine", "initials": "I", "first_name": "Igor", "role": "Maker", "index_number": 1 } ] }, { "title": "Quantum astrometric observables I: time delay in classical and quantum gravity", "year": 2011, "type": "Overige Output", "url_open_access": "http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.7127", "authors": [ { "last_name": "Khavkine", "initials": "I", "first_name": "Igor", "role": "Maker", "index_number": 1 } ] } ] } ] }