RIP Rafael Sorkin (1945-2026), relativity + causal set quantum gravity

[robphy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Sorkin

https://artsandsciences.syracuse.edu/people/faculty/rafael-d-sorkin/
https://perimeterinstitute.ca/people/rafael-sorkin

https://perimeterinstitute.ca/news/perimeter-remembers-eminent-physicist-rafael-sorkin-1945-2026

Sorkin was a cherished colleague and brilliant theorist, whose legacy includes the development of causal set theory as an approach to quantum gravity, for which he was a leading architect.


Rafael Sorkin, an esteemed theoretical physicist with a long and prolific career, passed away on September 12, 2026, at his home in Kitchener, Ontario.

“Rafael was a cherished and longstanding member of the Perimeter community,” said Marcela Carena, Executive Director of Perimeter Institute. “The extraordinary depth and breadth of his foundational work – and his refusal to be confined by disciplinary boundaries – perfectly embodied the spirit of Perimeter. His seminal contributions have left an indelible mark across theoretical physics and will continue to inspire generations to come.”

Rafael joined Perimeter Institute in 2004, first as a Visiting Professor and later as a Senior Researcher. He transitioned to an Emeritus position in 2020. He also held a Senior Researcher position at Syracuse University, and was a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

To many, Rafael is best known for his influential work on the development of causal set theory, an approach to quantum gravity for which he was one of the leading architects.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causal_sets

• (2006) Geometry from order: causal sets (Einstein Online) - by Rafael Sorkin
• (2018) Classical and Quantum Gravity - Focus Issue: The causal set approach to quantum gravity
  
  
  
• https://qspace.fqxi.org/videos/563/causal-sets-the-quantum-theory-that-predicted-dark-energy
  video with Rafael Sorkin and Fay Dowker : (2026) Causal Sets : The quantum theory that predicted dark energy
  
  
• video: (2013) 016 Geometry from order and number: Casual sets by Rafael D Sorkin - &t=12m25s
• videos by Sorkin at Perimeter Institute (PIRSA)

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https://mathscinet.ams.org/mathscinet/MRAuthorID/165010
https://inspirehep.net/authors/988029
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LiLqRL0AAAAJ&hl=en


Quantum source of entropy for black holes
L Bombelli, RK Koul, J Lee, RD Sorkin
Physical Review D 34 (2), 373 1986

Space-time as a causal set
L Bombelli, J Lee, D Meyer, RD Sorkin
Physical review letters 59 (5), 521 1987

Kaluza-klein monopole
RD Sorkin
Physical Review Letters 51 (2), 87 1983

Quantum mechanics as quantum measure theory
RD Sorkin
Modern Physics Letters A, Vol. 09, No. 33, pp. 3119-3127 (1994)
arXiv preprint gr-qc/9401003 1994

Causal Sets: Discrete Gravity (Notes for the Valdivia Summer School)
Rafael D. Sorkin
arXiv:gr-qc/0309009 [pdf, ps, other]

https://arxiv.org/search/gr-qc?searchtype=author&query=Sorkin,+R+D

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Sorkin - Mathematics Genealogy Project
Sorkin - Physics Tree

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Rafael was my PhD advisor.
He was one of the deepest thinkers I have ever met.

RIP

 

[BellInequality]

I'm truly sorry for your loss. I had just started to dig into his work this week, only to learn that he had just passed.