YSU Institute of Physics recently hosted prominent scientist Paul Davies, who led a seminar titled "Open Questions in Modern Physics" in the Ceremonial Meeting Hall of the institute.
Physics has always been one of the most important areas of human knowledge and profound inquiry. This seminar-discussion was significant as it addressed fundamental questions that humanity has not yet been able to answer, but the answers to them can profoundly change our understanding of the universe and life. The answers to these questions would provide a more precise and comprehensive understanding of the structure of the universe, the nature of time, space, and the existence of life. Such discussions not only raise new questions but also introduce the latest scientific approaches that encourage scientists to explore the uncertainties that have persisted up to the present day. This also promotes international scientific cooperation in the exchange of new ideas and the collective efforts to solve global issues.
During the seminar, topics discussed included what occurred before the Big Bang, whether time travel is possible, whether we live in a multiverse, what dark matter is, the existence of extraterrestrial life, the origins of the laws of physics, and more.
Professor Paul Davies is the Director of Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University (USA). His research interests cover cosmology, quantum field theory, and astrobiology. He is one of the founders of quantum field theory in curved spacetime (gravitational fields). The concepts of "Bunch-Davies vacuum state" and the "Fulling-Unruh-Davies effect" are well-known in scientific literature. Paul Davies's monograph on quantum field theory in curved spacetime is considered a reference book for scientists working in the field. This area of physics is also a central focus of scientific research at the YSU Laboratory of Theoretical Physics. Research in this domain began in the early 1980s at the initiative of academician Gurgen Sahakyan.
Paul Davies has made significant contributions to the popularization of science. He is the author of nearly 30 accessible books and has hosted radio and television programs.
