Ramanujan Auditorium

Geometry Beyond Riemann and Gravity Beyond Einstein

T. R. Govindarajan

Retd. Professor, IMSc

Bernhard Riemann in his habilitation talk in 1855 proposed the axioms underlying Geometry which generalized to higher dimensions. This formed the foundation of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity which geometrized Newtonian gravity. On the other hand quantum theory was not included in this. This suggests the need to go beyond Riemann and Einstein. Surprisingly Riemann himself posed questions about Geometry at the infinitesimal and infinite in the same talk. These questions gel with modern queries about the Quantum spacetime. Speculative generalizations will be discussed in the current talk.