Light Rays Illuminating the Universe

Author: Landau, Yakov

Year: 2026

Degree: Dissertation (Ph.D.)

Advisor: Simmons-Duffin, David

Committee Members: Cheung, Clifford W.; Wise, Mark B.; Patterson, Ryan B.; Simmons-Duffin, David

Option: Physics

DOI: 10.7907/kz8m-sq03

Abstract

This thesis studies light ray operators in two different contexts. The first is to use light ray operators to construct spinning dispersive sum rules. These can then be used to bound corrections to Einstein's gravity in anti de Sitter space, an important step in verifying the HPPS conjecture. They can also be used to validate the known flat space limits as the functionals used in that context are shown to be flat space limits of these more rigorous constructions. The other context explored in this thesis is in the study of light ray operators as observables themselves on a rigid de Sitter background. Energy detectors can be shown to be an example of a light ray operator, and we show how they differ qualitatively from their flat space counterparts.