Speaker: James Edholm (Lancaster)
Title: Infinite derivative gravity
Abstract: We know that general relativity (GR) breaks down at short distances, when we try and apply it to black holes and the big bang. Attempts to fix this by modifying GR generically lead to ghosts, but by introducing infinite derivatives to the Lagrangian, we can generate a ghost-free theory: infinite derivative gravity (IDG). I will discuss how this affects the Newtonian potential, show that we can avoid singularities and how IDG can also generate the cosmological inflation which we observe in the early universe.