The Time Machine Factory [unspeakable, speakable] on Time Travel - TMF2024

Spin-off event on the GR Galaxy

Focus workshop on General Relativistic modelling of the Galaxy (GRG.0)

As a spin-off of the Time Machine Factory conference and in line with the conference's goal to highlight new horizons and initiate cutting-edge investigations on the role of General Relativity (GR)  in gravitational physics, this event aims to bring together  GR experts and astronomers  to discuss the latest developments in general relativistic galactic models, with a particular focus on the insights provided by the recently published Gaia data. 

The ESA mission Gaia is providing a detailed reconstruction of our Milky Way enabled through microarcsecond global astrometry. At such level of accuracy, a fully general relativistic analysis of photon trajectories from the observational data back to the spacetime origin of the emitting astronomical object is mandatory.  Then, ultimately, from Gaia onwards, high accurate measurements must include General Relativity at the very core of the data analysis to guarantee the quality of scientific outputs  and any subsequent applications should be consistent with the theory underlyning  the data processing.  

As a matter of fact,  the release of new data of unprecedented quality and homogeneity from the Gaia mission has opened new avenues for exploring and refining our understanding of galactic structure, dynamics, and evolution within the framework of general relativity. As a result, in recent years, this approach is finally being considered and has gained significant traction, challenging, for example, the long-standing paradigm that dark matter is necessary to explain the flat rotation curves of disc galaxies. 

Moreover, general relativistic stellar maps, based on specific solutions of Einstein’s equation, are the essential ingredient to travel through spacetime, especially in the perspectives of “warp drives” and a quantum gravity metrology. 

The meeting will be held on Thursday, 26 September 2024 from 9:00 am

 @ Archivio di Stato, Sezioni Corte - Regi Archivi,   Piazza Castello 209, Torino. 

The participation is by invitation. Colleagues who wish to contribute or participate please contact  mariateresa.crosta@inaf.it (cc william.beordo@inaf.it).