December 2013 - philphysmunich

Workshop on Paradigms of Modern Physics
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 19, 2013

Dec. 19, 2013

This might be of interest to some of you. Begin forwarded message: From: Leonhard Horstmeyer <horstmey(a)mis.mpg.de> Subject: Workshop on Paradigms of Modern Physics Date: 18. Dezember 2013 16:53:48 MEZ To: S.Hartmann(a)lmu.de Dear all, We invite you to a workshop 'paradigms of modern theoretical physics' in a mountain cabin from the 22nd till 29th of March 2014. We are going to discuss and elaborate the paradigms of theoretical physics in an informal and creative atmosphere. Please find attached a more explicit invitation with details on the workshop and the registration. The administration of the self catering hut needs to know the number of participants by the 20th of December, so please email us no later than that. Best regards, Leo, Johannes, Jan-Hendrik

1 0

PHIL-PHYS-RDG-GRP: meeting today postponed; next meetings
by Erik Curiel Dec. 18, 2013

Dec. 18, 2013

Because of a conflict with a physics seminar on the Higgs and SUSY, the München-area philosophy of physics reading group will not meet today. We will resume on Jan. 15, discussing what we had intended to today, "Hawking radiation and black hole thermodynamics" by Don Page (not including section 5). To make up for missed sessions, we will thereafter meet on Jan. 22 and Jan. 29. I will send out a reminder email in earlyish January. Hope everyone has a great new year! Yours, E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwigsstrasse 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

1 0

Foundations of QM Seminar (Dec. 16)
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 16, 2013

Dec. 16, 2013

Dear all, our "Foundations of Quantum Mechanics" seminar continues today with Lennart Piro (LMU) on "Zurek's Derivation of the Born Rule". Papers can be found in the dropbox link below: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jtfwt8gy5jj85al/fgOTszDGFq Location: Ludwigstr.31, Room 021. Time: Monday Dec. 16, 18:00 (s.t.) Best wishes, Radin

1 0

Talk by Erik Curiel at MCMP (18th Dec)
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 13, 2013

Dec. 13, 2013

Speaker: Erik Curiel (MCMP/LMU) Wednesday 18th Dec 2013 Location: Ludwigstr. 31 room 021 Time: 16:15 - 17:45 Title: Are Classical Black Holes Hot or Cold? Abstract: In the early 1970s it was realized that there is a striking formal analogy between the so-called laws of black-hole mechanics and the laws of classical thermodynamics. Before the discovery of Hawking radiation, however, it was generally thought that the analogy was only formal, and did not reflect a deep connection between gravitational and thermodynamical phenomena. In particular, it is still commonly held that the surface gravity of a stationary black hole can be construed as a true physical temperature only when quantum effects are taken into account; in the context of classical general relativity alone, one cannot cogently construe it so. Does the use of quantum field theory in curved spacetime offer the only hope for taking the analogy seriously? I think the answer is 'no'. To attempt to justify that answer, I shall begin by arguing that the standard argument to the contrary is not physically well founded, and in any event begs the question. Looking at the various ways that the idea of "temperature" enters classical thermodynamics then will suggest arguments that, I claim, show the analogy between classical black-hole mechanics and classical thermodynamics should be taken more seriously, at least so far as temperature goes, without the need to rely on or invoke quantum mechanics. If this is correct, then there may be a deep connection between classical general relativity and classical thermodynamics on their own, independent of quantum mechanics.

1 0

PHIL-PHYS-RDG-GRP: next meeting
by Erik Curiel Dec. 11, 2013

Dec. 11, 2013

The next meeting of the München-area philosophy of physics reading group will take place next Wednesday, Dec. 19, 14:15-15:45, in Ludwigstr. 25, room D4c. We will read "Hawking radiation and black hole thermodynamics" by Don Page, a breezy and pleasant introductory overview of the subject. (It has equations and arguments, but no formal proofs, and a lot of fun history.) There is no need to read section 5, "Logarithmic corrections to black hole entropy", as that deals entirely with issues in various quantum gravity programs, which we are not yet studying. I attach a copy to this email (and also I have uploaded it to the dropbox account for the reading group). Hope to see you there! Yours, E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwigstrasse 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

1 0

Fwd: CFP: Philosophy of Logic, Mathematics, and Physics Graduate Conference
by Michael Cuffaro Dec. 10, 2013

Dec. 10, 2013

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: CFP: Philosophy of Logic, Mathematics, and Physics Graduate Conference Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2013 15:04:19 -0500 From: Melissa Jacquart <melissajacquart(a)GMAIL.COM> Reply-To: A Forum for Discussion of the History of the Philosophy of Science <HOPOS-L(a)listserv.vt.edu> To: HOPOS-L(a)LISTSERV.VT.EDU The 14th annual Philosophy of Logic, Mathematics, and Physics Graduate Conference will take place on Thursday-Friday, June 5-6, 2014, at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. We are pleased to announce that Doreen Fraser (University of Waterloo) will be giving the keynote address. Call for Papers Graduate students who have not yet defended their PhD thesis are invited to submit papers on any topic in philosophy of logic, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of physics. Papers in philosophy of physics will be considered for the 11th Annual Clifton Memorial book prize. The contest will be adjudicated by philosophy of physics faculty members at Western. Submission Guidelines The maximum paper length 5,000 words, including footnotes and appendices (but not references). If the paper includes tables, figures, or equations, an appropriate number of words should be subtracted from the limit. Papers are to be prepared for anonymous review, and should be accompanied by an abstract (no longer than 300 words). Co-authored papers are not eligible for submission. Deadline: Papers should be submitted via EasyChair by February 24th, 2014. Authors of accepted papers will be limited to 30-35 minutes for presentation, followed by a 20-minute period of discussion. We will endeavor to make accommodations available to all visiting graduate students. This year, the 2014 LMP Conference will precede the 18th annual Philosophy of Physics Conference, Metaphysics Within and Without Physics, taking place June 7-8. Additional information can be found on our website: http://logicmathphysics.ca Please send questions to the LMP Conference Committee: uwolmp(a)gmail.com We look forward to receiving your submission, Melissa Jacquart, Olivia Komorowski, Josh Luczak, Nathan Moore, Jared Richards, and Jessey Wright (2014 LMP Conference Committee) ----------- Melissa Jacquart PhD Student Resident Member Rotman Institute of Philosophy Department of Philosophy Western University Stevenson Hall 2150 www.melissajacquart.com

1 0

PHIL-PHYS-RDG-GRP: more reading
by Erik Curiel Dec. 6, 2013

Dec. 6, 2013

I added a file to the dropbox repository, "Comment on entropy bounds and the generalized second law" by Wald and Pelath (a very talented grad student---at the time---of Wald), which is a direct response to Bekenstein's "Non-Archimedean character..." paper. The 1983 Unruh-Wald paper on dropbox is a response to earlier papers by Bekenstein that are not in dropbox. I also renamed the files in the dropbox repository, to make it easier to get what you want and only what you want (which, being American, I feel is important). E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwigsstrasse 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

1 0

PHILPHYS-RDG-GRP: next meeting
by Erik Curiel Dec. 6, 2013

Dec. 6, 2013

Because the meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 04 was postponed, the next meeting of the Munich-area philosophy of physics reading group will take place Wednesday, Dec. 11, 14:15-15:45, in Ludwigstr. 25, room D4c. We will discuss "Acceleration radiation and the generalized second law of thermodynamics" by Unruh and Wald, available in the dropbox account for this reading group: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y3yk4z26gmz6dkq/QwftMmfn2s (you do not need a dropbox account to access this link). If there is time and interest, we may also discuss Bekenstein's response to this paper, "Non-Archimedean character of quantum buoyancy and the generalized second law of thermodynamics", and even Unruh and Wald's riposte to Bekenstein, "Entropy bounds, acceleration radiation, and the generalized second law". These two papers are also available in the dropbox account. Hope to see you there! E -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwigsstrasse 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

1 0

Fwd: Talk by Richard Dawid at CAS (Dec 10)
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 6, 2013

Dec. 6, 2013

Apologies. The talk will, of course, be on Tuesday Dec 10 not Wednesday. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Talk by Richard Dawid at CAS (Dec 10) Date: 2013-12-06 09:04 From: "Dardashti, Radin" <Radin.Dardashti(a)lrz.uni-muenchen.de> To: Philphysmunich <philphysmunich(a)lists.lrz.de> Speaker: Richard Dawid (Vienna) Wednesday 10th Dec 2013 Location: Vortragssaal des CAS, Seestraße 13 Time: 7 pm Title: String Theory and the Scientific Method Abstract: For the last thirty years, string theory has played a highly influential role in fundamental physics without having found empirical confirmation. The presentation will analyze reasons for the high degree of trust many physicists have developed in a theory that, according to classical standards of theory assessment, would have to be called an unconfirmed speculation. It will be argued that the case of string theory suggests a new perspective on our understanding of theory confirmation in general. In the last part of the talk, some implications for the scientific realism debate and the question of reduction in science shall also be addressed. Please Register at: info(a)cas.lmu.de http://www.cas.uni-muenchen.de/veranstaltungen/einzelvortraege/ev_dawid/ind… -- Radin Dardashti Doctoral Fellow Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Ludwigstr. 31 (Room 126) D-80539 München radin.dardashti(a)lrz.uni-muenchen.de http://www.mcmp.philosophie.uni-muenchen.de/people/doct_fellows/dardashti

1 0

Talk by Richard Dawid at CAS (Dec 10)
by Dardashti, Radin Dec. 6, 2013

Dec. 6, 2013

Speaker: Richard Dawid (Vienna) Wednesday 10th Dec 2013 Location: Vortragssaal des CAS, Seestraße 13 Time: 7 pm Title: String Theory and the Scientific Method Abstract: For the last thirty years, string theory has played a highly influential role in fundamental physics without having found empirical confirmation. The presentation will analyze reasons for the high degree of trust many physicists have developed in a theory that, according to classical standards of theory assessment, would have to be called an unconfirmed speculation. It will be argued that the case of string theory suggests a new perspective on our understanding of theory confirmation in general. In the last part of the talk, some implications for the scientific realism debate and the question of reduction in science shall also be addressed. Please Register at: info(a)cas.lmu.de http://www.cas.uni-muenchen.de/veranstaltungen/einzelvortraege/ev_dawid/ind…

1 0