Sean Carroll: Is the Universe Twisted? Limits on Lorentz Violation & other Screwy Ideas! (#084)

In 1990, Sean Carroll’s, George Field and Roman Jackiw wrote an
epochal paper that had a tremendous impact on physics, and in
particular, on me and my career as a young graduate student in the
1990’s. Recently, evidence for the parity violating effect from
Cosmic Microwave Background observations by Planck was announced in
Physical Review Letters:
https://journals.aps.org/prl/accepted/b0070Yf9I0214c6835b00d89342658c8255c84496
Sean will discuss the background physics behind this effect and the
implications for physics if the PRL is confirmed by upcoming
polarimeters or otherwise convincing evidence is found. I will
discuss some of the experimental challenges to making such a
measurement and prospects for upcoming experiments such as CLASS,
BICEP Array, SPT3G, Simons Array, ACT, LiteBIRD, Simons
Observatory, and CMB Stage 4 to make a definitive, high confidence
level claim. While you’re waiting for the livestream to start here
is some homework 1) Subscribe to Sean’s Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRhV1rWIpm_pU19bBm_2RXw?sub_confirmation=1
2) Enjoy this video from the SETI institute on cosmic
birefringence, including a 1997 claim that Sean refuted, that I
presented 4 years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QywRTlcocBE
3) Read the original paper by Carroll, Field, and Jackiw:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/13277928_Limits_on_a_Lorentz-_and_parity-violating_modification_of_electrodynamics
4) And, read the abstract of the current paper, accepted for
publication in PRL:
https://journals.aps.org/prl/accepted/b0070Yf9I0214c6835b00d89342658c8255c84496
5) Watch my review of Sean’s book, The Big Picture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg4t_snAPwY?sub_confirmation=1 6)
Watch my interview with Sean about his latest book, Something
Deeply Hidden:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKEXbSe0hV0?sub_confirmation=1 Sean
Michael Carroll (born October 5, 1966) is a theoretical physicist
specializing in quantum mechanics, gravity, and cosmology. He is a
research professor in the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical
Physics in the California Institute of Technology Department of
Physics.[1] He has been a contributor to the physics blog Cosmic
Variance, and has published in scientific journals such as Nature
as well as other publications, including The New York Times, Sky
& Telescope, and New Scientist. Brian Keating’s most popular
Youtube Videos: Eric
Weinstein: https://youtu.be/YjsPb3kBGnk?sub_confirmation=1 Jim
Simons: https://youtu.be/6fr8XOtbPqM?sub_confirmation=1 Noam
Chomsky: https://youtu.be/Iaz6JIxDh6Y?sub_confirmation=1
Sabine
Hossenfelder: https://youtu.be/V6dMM2-X6nk?sub_confirmation=1
Sarah Scoles: https://youtu.be/apVKobWigMw Stephen
Wolfram: https://youtu.be/nSAemRxzmXM Host Brian Keating: ‍️
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