November 2015 - philphysmunich

Talk by Nick Tosh at MCMP (Wed. Dec.2)
by Dardashti, Radin Nov. 30, 2015

Nov. 30, 2015

Speaker: Nick Tosh (NUI Galway) Date: Wed., Dec. 2 Location: Ludwigstr. 31, ground floor, room 021 Time: 18:15 -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 19:45 Title: Ensemble realism: A new approach to statistical mechanical probability Abstract: “What we know about a body can generally be described most accurately and most simply by saying that it is one taken at random from a great number (ensemble) of bodies which are completely described.” So wrote Willard Gibbs in 1902, but with his fingers crossed, for he regarded ensembles as convenient fictions. A century later, they are still convenient, and we still have no settled account of the literal meaning of statistical mechanical probability assignments. My aim is to show how talk of ensembles might be taken seriously.

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Rading Group Philosophy of Physics (Tue. Nov 24)
by Dardashti, Radin Nov. 23, 2015

Nov. 23, 2015

Dear all, the next session of our reading group: Inconsistency in Physics will be on Tuesday Nov. 24th in room 028, Ludwigstraße 31. There will be no reading for that session. Erik Curiel will give a presentation on the derivation of the Navier-Stokes equations from the Boltzmann collision equation. Best wishes, Radin

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Talks by Evans and Fraser at MCMP (25. and 26. Nov)
by Dardashti, Radin Nov. 22, 2015

Nov. 22, 2015

Speaker: Peter Evans (University of Queensland) Date: Wed., Nov 25 Location: Ludwigstraße 31, ground floor, Room E21 Time: 16:15 -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 17:45 Title: Quantum causal models, faithfulness and retrocausality Abstract: Wood and Spekkens (2015) argue that any causal model explaining the EPRB correlations and satisfying no-signalling must also violate the assumption that the model faithfully reproduces the statistical dependences and independences---a so-called “fine-tuning” of the causal parameters; this includes, in particular, retrocausal explanations of the EPRB correlations. I consider this analysis with a view to enumerating the possible responses an advocate of retrocausal explanations might propose. I focus on the response of Näger (2015), who argues that the central ideas of causal explanations can be saved if one accepts the possibility of a stable fine-tuning of the causal parameters. I argue that, in light of this view, a violation of faithfulness does not necessarily rule out retrocausal explanations of the EPRB correlations. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker: James Fraser (University of Leeds) Date: Thu., Nov 26 Location: Ludwigstraße 31, ground floor, Room E21 Time: 12:15 -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 13:45 Title: Relativity in Quantum Field Theory Abstract: There has recently been heated debate amongst philosophers of physics about which formulation of quantum field theory (QFT) ought to be the basis of philosophical investigations of high energy physics. Doreen Fraser has defended the primacy of axiomatic formulations of QFT, while David Wallace advocates the philosophical significance of cutoff QFTs. In this paper I focus on one issue underlying this dispute, namely the status of relativity in QFT. While Fraser takes QFT to incorporate a commitment to Minkowski space-time, Wallace views QFT as an effective field theory which says nothing about the fundamental nature of space-time, and is unfazed by the fact that imposing a cutoff breaks Poincaré covariance. One way out of this apparent stalemate, I suggest, is to relax the idea that there is a one preferred 'foundational' version of QFT. We can then allow that different formalisms, which incorporate different claims about space-time structure, are the appropriate objects of study for different philosophical projects. In particular, I argue that the question of whether quantum theory can be combined with fundamental Minkowski space-time structure and what we ought to believe about the world given the successes of the standard model are distinct and that it may be that axiomatic and cutoff formulations of QFT are the right starting points for each.

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Talk by Padovani at MCMP (Thu. Nov. 19)
by Dardashti, Radin Nov. 16, 2015

Nov. 16, 2015

Speaker: Flavia Padovani (Drexel University) Date: Thu., Nov 19 Location: Ludwigstraße 31, ground floor, Room E21 Time: 18:15 -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 19:45 Title: Measurements, Coordination, and the Problem of Representation of Physical Quantities Abstract: In his Scientific Representation, van Fraassen argues that measuring is a form of representation. In fact, every measurement pinpoints its target in accordance with specific operational rules within an already-constructed theoretical space, in which conceptual interconnections can be represented. Reichenbach’s 1920 account of coordination is particularly interesting in this connection. In his early work, however, the idea of coordination was employed not only to indicate theory-specific fundamental principles such as the ones suggested by Friedman’s relativized a priori, but also to refer to more basic principles. These are preconditions both of the individuation of physical magnitudes and of their measurement, thus necessary to approach the world through measurement in the first instance. This paper aims to reassess Reichenbach’s approach to coordination and to the representation of physical quantities in light of recent literature on measurement and scientific representation.

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Reading Group: Inconsistency in Physics; Next meeting Tue 17 Nov
by Dardashti, Radin Nov. 13, 2015

Nov. 13, 2015

Dear all, the next meeting of the reading group will be on Tuesday (Nov. 17th) at 18:00 in Room 028, Ludwigstraße 31. We will discuss the following papers: Norton, John: "The Force of Newtonian Cosmology: Acceleration is Relative" Wallace, David: "More problems for Newtonian Cosmology" Additional background: Saunders, Simon: "Rethinking Newton's Principia" If you would like to participate, please email me, so I can forward you the readings. Best wishes, Radin

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Talk by Maldacena at ASC (Wed. 18 Nov)
by Dardashti, Radin Nov. 13, 2015

Nov. 13, 2015

Speaker: Juan Maldacena (IAS Princeton) Date: Wed., Nov 18 Location: Theresienstr. 37/III, Room A348/349 Time: 16:15 -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 18:45 Title: Quantum Mechanics and Geometry of Spacetime Abstract: Quantum mechanics is important for determining the geometry of spacetime. We will review the role of quantum fluctuations that determine the large scale structure of the universe. In some model universes we can give an alternative description of the physics in terms of a theory of particles that lives on its boundary. This implies that the geometry is an emergent property. Furthermore, entanglement plays a crucial role in the emergence of geometry. Large amounts of entanglement are conjectured to give rise to geometric connections, or wormholes, between distant and non-interacting systems.

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Talk by Mike Miller at MCMP (Thu. Nov. 12)
by Dardashti, Radin Nov. 10, 2015

Nov. 10, 2015

Speaker: Michael Miller (Pittsburgh) Date: Thu., Nov 12 Location: Ludwigstr. 31, ground floor, room 021 Time: 12:15 -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 13:45 Title: Mathematical Structure and the Meaning of “Quantum Field” Abstract: Standard approaches to the interpretation of physical theories require a structurally unambiguous characterization of the models of a theory. In this talk I argue that the nature of the empirical support for one of our best empirically confirmed theories does not warrant commitment to one particular type of structure as constitutive of the theory. Rather, empirically adequate models rely on a syntax that is compatible with a precisely delimited, but heterogeneous, class of structures. I develop an approach to semantics for physical theories that accommodates this type of constrained structural ambiguity. This approach allows for an understanding of how physical meaning attaches to empirically adequate models of quantum field theory, a desideratum which has not been achieved by standard approaches to semantics for physical theories. Moreover, the approach leads to novel criteria for determining when there is good reason to conclude that elements of the mathematical formalism for a theory have correlates in the physical world.

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Reading Group: Inconsistency in Physics
by Dardashti, Radin Nov. 9, 2015

Nov. 9, 2015

Dear all, our philosophy of physics reading group continues with the topic "Inconsistency in Physics". We explore questions like: What role does consistency play in physics? What is actually meant with consistency in physical theories and are there different kinds of inconsistencies? The reading group aims to explore these and other related debates by discussing the literature on this topic while also having discussion sessions on some of the specific questions. The group holds usually bi-weekly meetings throughout the academic term and is open to all. Starting date: Tuesday, 10 November, 2015, 11am c.t. (after the first session 6pm) Room: Ludwigstr. 31, room 126 The reading for our first session is: - Mathias Frisch: "Inconsistency, Asymmetry, and Non-Locality: A Philosophical Investigation of Classical Electrodynamics", chapter 2. - Peter Vickers: "Understanding Inconsistent Science", chapter 4. Mathias Frisch will be attending the first meeting of the group. Please email me, if you want to participate in the reading group so I can forward you the reading. Best wishes, Radin -- 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 http://radindardashti.weebly.com

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