Law of Universal Gravitation and Relativity Mathematics
Prof. Guowu Meng
Host： Prof. Jinwu Ye
Date： Oct. 13, 2023 (Friday)
Time： 10:00-11:00 A.M.
Venue： Tencent Meeting ID：581-354-150
国际创新创业社区A5栋18楼1806会议室
Abstract：
Based on the Law of Universal Gravitation (also called the inverse square law), Issac Newton built a mathematical model for the simplest solar system. The huge success of this simple model (usually called the Kepler problem) enabled Newton to achieve the first great unification in physics.
Around a decade ago, the speaker made a discovery, revealing that the mathematical signatures of special relativity, including the future light-cone and Lorentz transformation, are hidden behind the Kepler problem. More recently, the speaker observed a mathematical duality within the Kepler problem, involving de Sitter and Anti-de Sitter symmetries which both appear prominently in the study of general relativity.
If time permits, the speaker will present a theory which includes both the Kepler problem (based on the inverse square law) and the oscillator problem (based on Hooke's law) as special examples. This general theory is based on Pascual Jordan's algebra—an innovative mathematical construct originating from Jordan's pursuit of an intrinsic formulation of quantum mechanics.
The potential implications of these unexpected mathematical discoveries to fundamental physics are left for the audience to contemplate and ponder upon.
Biography：
Prof. Guowu Meng is a mathematician at HKUST. He joined the university as a lecturer in the fall of 1993 and was promoted to the position of Associate Professor with tenure in January 1999 and the rank of Professor in July 2012. He spent the academic year 2010-2011 at the IAS Princeton as an IAS Qiu Shi Foundation member. Being a CUSPEA student in class 1986 from USTC, he switched to mathematics in 1989. His Ph.D. field of research is differential topology and algebraic topology.
Mathematically he is best known as the "Meng" in Meng-Taubes Formula that links the modern Seiberg-Witten theory for smooth four-manifolds to the classical Alexander theory for knots, links, and three-manifolds. In recent years, his mathematical exploration has focused on the Kepler problem. One surprising discovery of this exploration is an intimate relationship between the Kepler problem in classical physics and the signature mathematical structures in the theory of relativity, which includes concepts such as the light cone, Lorentz transformation, time-like geodesic, and de Sitter and anti-de Sitter groups.
