Professor Rhett Herman, Radford University, VA
4 PM, Thursday, November 7, 1996
Room 101, Olin Physical Laboratory
Quantum field theory (QFT) is the theoretical framework within which various aspects of curved spacetimes may be studied. My research to date has concentrated one aspect of QFT in order to study a specific class of black holes, namely black holes possessing both charge and spin. In my talk, I will discuss some interesting aspects of charged black hole spacetimes in order to show my motivation for studying QFT in these spacetimes. The technique I have studied for exploring these spacetimes is called DeWitt-Schwinger point-splitting, or "point-splitting" for short. A brief discussion of the concept behind point-splitting will show the technique to be a straightforward (albeit algebraically complicated) iterative procedure for solving the equations that deal with curved spacetime physics. I will present my results in point-splitting and discuss their meaning and future application in the study of the physics of curved spacetimes.