Scientific Calendar Event



Description
An ICTP Meeting

The physics of quantum gravity in de Sitter space, namely with positive cosmological constant and therefore relevant for quantum cosmology in the real world, remains to date a rather mysterious subject, despite its significance and despite the tremendous progress made in anti de Sitter space. The very questions one should ask in de Sitter space and the correct framework for quantum gravity are currently debated.

This workshop aims to discuss modern approaches to quantum gravity in
de Sitter space, including:

* Canonical quantization
* Inclusion of observers
* Holography
* The double-scaled SYK model
* Low-dimensional solvable models of gravity, such as JT and 3d gravity
* Von Neumann operator algebras

The workshop will have a light but focused schedule with a few talks per day, including both pedagogical and more technical parts, leaving ample time to spontaneous discussions and thus fostering new collaborations.

The preliminary list of speakers includes so far:

D. Anninos, King's College London, UK
P. Betzios, Gent University, Belgium
P. Creminelli, ICTP, Italy
D. Galante, King's College London, UK
V. Godet, LPTHE Paris, France
K. Jensen, University of Victoria, Canada
M. Mirbabayi, ICTP, Italy
V. Narovlansky, IAS Princeton, USA
A. Speranza, Amsterdam University, Netherlands
J. van der Schaar, Amsterdam University, Netherlands
E. Verheijden, NORDITA, Sweden
Z. Yang, Tsinghua University, China

Grants: A limited number of grants are available to support the attendance of selected participants, with priority given to participants from developing countries. There is no registration fee.

Go to day
  • Wednesday, 22 October 2025
    • 09:30 - 17:00
      • 09:30 Registration Formalities 30'
        REGISTRATION: Upon arrival, Visitors not staying in the ICTP Guest Houses, are kindly requested to complete registration formalities at the Leonardo Building (Lobby). The Registration Desk will be open in the morning starting from 9:30.
      • 10:00 TBA 1h0'
        Speaker: Dionysios Theodoros ANNINOS (King's College London, UK)
      • 11:00 Coffee Break 30'
      • 11:30 Towards a microscopic description of de Sitter dynamics 1h0'
        Speaker: Vladimir NAROVLANSKY (IAS Princeton, USA)
      • 12:30 Lunch Break 2h0'
      • 14:30 On the norm of the no-boundary state 1h0'
        Speaker: Kristan JENSEN (University of Victoria, Canada)
      • 15:30 Coffee Break 30'
      • 16:00 An intrinsic cosmological observer 1h0'
        Speaker: Antony SPERANZA (Amsterdam University, Netherlands)
    • 18:00 - 19:30
      • 18:00 Welcome Reception 1h30' ( Adriatico Cafeteria )
        All Participants are cordially invited to the Welcome Reception
  • Thursday, 23 October 2025
    • 10:00 - 17:00
      • 10:00 Beyond Perturbation Theory in Inflation 1h0'
        Speaker: Paolo Creminelli (ICTP, Italy)
      • 11:00 Coffee Break 30'
      • 11:30 Möbius randomness in the Hartle-Hawking state 1h0'
        Speaker: Victor Zhuang GODET (LPTHE, France)
      • 12:30 Lunch Break 2h0'
      • 14:30 On Black Hole states in de Sitter space 1h0'
        Speaker: Jan Pieter VAN DER SCHAAR (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)
      • 15:30 Coffee Break 30'
      • 16:00 The cosmological stretched horizon 1h0'
        Speaker: Damian Andres GALANTE (King's College London, UK)
  • Friday, 24 October 2025
    • 10:00 - 17:00
      • 10:00 Comments on the de sitter double cone 1h0'
        Speaker: Zhenbin YANG (Tsinghua University, China)
      • 11:00 Group Photo 5'
        Group Photo
      • 11:05 Coffee Break 25'
      • 11:30 Cryptography in Quantum Gravity 1h0'
        Speaker: Evita VERHEIJDEN (Nordita, Sweden)
      • 12:30 Lunch Break 2h0'
      • 14:30 An observer's measure of de Sitter entropy 1h0'
        Speaker: Mehrdad MIRBABAYI (ICTP, Italy)
      • 15:30 Coffee Break 30'
      • 16:00 Microscopic models of Cosmology: The case of (A)dS_2 1h0'
        Speaker: Panos BETZIOS (Gent University, Belgium)