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Quantum Information Theory Reading Group at LMU
by Michael Cuffaro July 13, 2014

July 13, 2014

Dear all, the Summer 2014 reading group on Quantum Information Theory will begin this coming Monday, April 14th, from 18:00 - 20:00 (CT). After that we will meet bi-weekly. The location is Ludwigstraße 31, Room 021. The first part of the meeting on Monday will be devoted to organisational matters and to discussing subsequent meeting topics. During the second part of the meeting, *Seamus Bradley* will introduce us to *Classical Information Theory*. As background reading, you may want to look at Parts I and II of Claude Shannon's "A Mathematical Theory of Communication" (1948). It can be downloaded from: http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/ms/what/shannonday/shannon1948.pdf Everyone interested in the topic of quantum information theory is encouraged to attend the group. Please also feel free to distribute this to anyone not subscribed to this mailing list who you think may be interested in attending. If you are receiving this email twice because you belong to this mailing list but are explicitly included in the Cc list, please let me know and I will remove you from the latter. I hope to see many of you next week. Best wishes, -- Michael Cuffaro Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 80539 München, Deutschland http://www.michaelcuffaro.com

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Talk by Radin Dardashti (MCMP)
by Karim Thébault July 1, 2014

July 1, 2014

Speaker: Radin Dardashti (MCMP) Wednesday 2nd July 2014 Location: Ludwigstr. 31 room 021 Time: 16:15 - 17:45 On the Distinction between Internal and External Symmetries There is no doubt that symmetries play an important role in fundamental physics, but there is no agreement among physicists on what this role exactly is. So it is not surprising that it has caught the interest of philosophers in recent years leading to a lively discussion on the epistemological and ontological significance of symmetries. Especially in this context it becomes relevant whether common distinctions made between different kinds of symmetries are purely conventional or have a deeper mathematical and/or physical justification. It is the aim of this talk to discuss the distinction between internal and external (or spacetime) symmetries and its possible justification. First, I will discuss attempts at combining internal and external symmetries, which lead to several no-go theorems. A naive interpretation of these results leads to the conclusion that the distinction is physically/mathematically justified. Second, the strong dependence of the no-go results on physical and mathematical assumptions is discussed and it is shown how the distinction becomes blurred once mathematical assumptions are weakened. This is exactly what happens in supersymmetric extensions of the standard model of particle physics. So, in the final part, I will argue that under a certain (philosophical) assumption the question about the status of the distinction can be made into an experimental question _______________________________________________ philphysmunich mailing list philphysmunich(a)lists.lrz.de https://lists.lrz.de/mailman/listinfo/philphysmunich

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Mini-Workshop on the Foundations of Shape Dynamics (LMU Munich, 23rd June)
by Karim Thébault June 12, 2014

June 12, 2014

****************************************************************** Mini-Workshop on the Foundations of Shape Dynamics Sean Gryb (Nijmegen) and Tim Koslowski (New Brunswick) 18:15 - 19:45 Monday 23rd June Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, LMU Munich Ludwigstr. 31/0 room 021 ****************************************************************** *An Introduction to Shape Dynamics: a New Perspective on Quantum Gravity* Sean Gryb (Nijmegen) Shape Dynamics is a theory of gravity where the fundamental ontology is that of evolving conformally invariant spatial geometry. This implements a notion of local spatial scale invariance such that what is seen to be physically meaningful is the information about the local "shapes" (as opposed to size) of a system. Perhaps surprisingly, this theory can be proven to reproduce a vast number of the solutions to the Einstein equations. However, black hole solutions are known to differ from those of GR past the horizon and do not lead to singularities. Shape Dynamics, thus, provides an intriguing new starting point for a theory of quantum gravity. In this introductory chalkboard talk, I will try to give some motivations for Shape Dynamics and will describe the basic structure of the theory, outlining how one can prove equivalence with GR. This will lay the ground work for Tim Koslowski's talk, which will discuss some recent developments of the theory. *Recent Work in Shape Dynamics* Tim Koslowski (New Brunswick) Based on the introduction to shape dynamics by Sean Gryb, I will discuss the question: "Given that gravity (from the perspective of shape dynamics) is fundamentally the evolution of spatial conformal geometry and not spacetime: How is the arrow of time generated? How is the illusion of a spacetime generated? What are the limitations of the spacetime description? I will give explicit answers to several aspect of these questions and I will explain where the uncharted territory begins. ****************************************************************** Selected Papers: Einstein gravity as a 3D conformally invariant theory Henrique Gomes, Sean Gryb, Tim Koslowski.. Quant.Grav. 28 (2011) 045005 arXiv:1010.2481 [gr-qc] | Frequently asked questions about Shape Dynamics Henrique Gomes, Tim Koslowski. Found.Phys. 43 (2013) 1428-1458 arXiv:1211.5878 [gr-qc] A Gravitational Origin of the Arrows of Time Julian Barbour, Tim Koslowski, Flavio Mercati. arXiv:1310.5167 [gr-qc] _______________________________________________ philphysmunich mailing list philphysmunich(a)lists.lrz.de https://lists.lrz.de/mailman/listinfo/philphysmunich

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Talk by Tom Pashby at MCMP (May 28)
by Dardashti, Radin May 25, 2014

May 25, 2014

Speaker: Tom Pashby (Pittsburgh) Wednesday 28th May 2014 Location: Ludwigstr. 31 room 021 Time: 16:15 - 17:45 Title: Against Dogma: Locality, Conditionalisation, and Collapse in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics Abstract: I argue here against the widespread view (due to David Malament) that the non-commutativity of non-instantaneous localisation projections implies the existence of act-outcome correlations in relativistic QM. There are two facets to my argument: first, I claim that the interpretation of collapse as a process brought about by the experimenter is mistaken; second, I contend that a fully relativistic model should not condition on the occurrence of spacelike separated instantaneous events. This leaves the door open to define a relativistically invariant (but non-commuting) system of localization, which I interpret in terms of conditional probabilities for the occurrence of events. In accord with Tumulka (2009), I conclude that non-local correlations of events in a relativistic quantum theory need not imply the sort of action at a distance that worries Malament (1996).

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Talk by Adam Caulton (Cambridge)
by Karim Thébault May 15, 2014

May 15, 2014

Speaker: Adam Caulton (Cambridge) Wednesday 21st May 2014 Location: Ludwigstr. 31 room 021 Time: 16:15 - 17:45 Title: Adventures off the mass-shell What is the correct possibility space for a given particle of a quantum field? The firm orthodoxy, initiated by Wigner in 1939, is that we should look to the irreducible representations of the Poincaré group. But the justifications for this are murky, so I offer two rational reconstructions. According to one, the justification is that the Poincaré group comprises all the actions that can be performed on a simple system; but this is false, made particularly relevant in the case of interactions. According to another, conflicting reconstruction, Poincaré invariance is a reality condition; but this applies only to the entire system of fields, not to individual particles. Therefore it ought not constrain the possibility spaces of individual particles. Consequently, I argue, we have reason to consider "larger" state spaces than are normally considered. On one such approach, which I will advocate, the elements of these state spaces represent entire four-dimensional histories rather than instantaneous states---most of which are "off mass-shell", in that the relativistic mass condition is violated. I conclude by arguing that off-mass-shell particles, far from being mere formal inventions for the sake of S-matrix calculations, are just as "real" as their free counterparts---indeed, they are to be found as much in classical relativistic theories as in quantum relativistic theories. _______________________________________________ philphysmunich mailing list philphysmunich(a)lists.lrz.de https://lists.lrz.de/mailman/listinfo/philphysmunich

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Talk by Douglas Stone at ASC (Apr 30)
by Dardashti, Radin April 28, 2014

April 28, 2014

Speaker: A. Douglas Stone (Yale) Wednesday 30th Apr 2014 Location: Room A348/349, Theresienstr. 37/III Time: 16:15 - 17:45 Title: Einstein and Quantum Mechanics: Its Not What You Think Abstract: Einstein is well known for his rejection of quantum mechanics in the form it emerged from the work of Heisenberg, Born and Schrodinger in 1926. Much less appreciated are the many seminal contributions he made to quantum theory prior to his final scientific verdict, that the theory was at best incomplete. In this talk I present an overview of Einsteins many conceptual breakthroughs and place them in his- torical context. I argue that Einstein, much more than Planck, in- troduced the concept of quantization of energy in atomic mechanics. Einstein proposed the photon, the first force-carrying particle dis- covered for a fundamental interaction, and put forward the notion of wave-particle duality, based on sound statistical arguments 14 years before De Broglies work. He was the first to recognize the intrinsic randomness in atomic processes, and introduced the notion of tran- sition probabilities, embodied in the A and B coefficients for atomic emission and absorption. He also preceded Born in suggesting the interpretation of wave fields as probability densities for particles, pho- tons, in the case of the electromagnetic field. Finally, stimulated by Bose, he introduced the notion of indistinguishable particles in the quantum sense and derived the condensed phase of bosons, which is one of the fundamental states of matter at low temperatures. His work on quantum statistics in turn directly stimulated Schrodinger towards his discovery of the wave equation of quantum mechanics. It was only due to his rejection of the final theory that he is not gener- ally recognized as the most central figure in this historic achievement of human civilization.

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SimTech Workshop -Entanglement and Speed-up: Philosophical Issues in Quantum Computing
by Giacomo Lini April 11, 2014

April 11, 2014

Workshop title: Entanglement and Speed-up: Philosophical Issues in Quantum Computing Date and Venue: 9th, May, 2014. University of Stuttgart, Room 17.11, Kepplerstr. 1st floor Unofficial Schedule: 10:00 -11:00 Giovanni Cinà (ILLC, University of Amsterdam): CONNECTING THE CATEGORICAL AND THE MODAL LOGIC APPROACHES TO QUANTUM MECHANICS 11:15 -12:15 Michael Esfeld (University of Lausanne ): STRUCTURAL REALISM AND THE EXPLANATION OF QUANTUM NON-LOCALITY 13:45-14:45 Hans Briegel (University of Innsbruck): TO BE ANNOUNCED 15:00-16:00: Michael Cuffaro (University of Munich): THE PHYSICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BELL INEQUALITIES Short abstracts of the talks are available for consultation at the following website: http://quantumworkshopstuttgart.wordpress.com Anyone interested in participating is very welcome, but kindly asked to register by sending an email to the following mailboxes: giacomo.lini(a)philo.uni-stuttgart.de ulrike.pompe-alama(a)philo.uni-stuttgart.de Overview: Since their rising, quantum computational methods have been a matter of interest for physicists, mathematicians, and philosophers. This is due to the fact that quantum computing is a result of the combined research efforts of multiple disciplines, and its applications can provide a lot of benefits in both the practical and the theoretical domain. One of the most discussed topics is related to the origins of what is generally called “speed up”, i.e. the ability of a quantum computer to outperform its classical counterparts. In the last years, the description of the so-called cluster state quantum computer and some works on the dequantisation of quantum algorithms have at least undermined – if not defeated – the general idea that at the crudest level, quantum computation is just quantum parallelism. The aim of this workshop is to bring together physicists, mathematicians and philosophers and to consider the possible consequences of exalting the role of quantum entanglement at a computational and metaphysical level, highlighting in which sense the discussion about computational speed up can be fruitfully exploited for quantum theory and its interpretation.

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PHIL-PHYS-MUNICH: seminar on singularities, black holes and thermo
by Erik Curiel March 31, 2014

March 31, 2014

I want to remind people that I will be leading a weekly course (graduate seminar) this term at the MCMP, entitled "Singularities, Black Holes and Thermodynamics in Relativistic Spacetimes". It meets every Monday, starting April 07, 12:15--13:45, Ludwigstr. 31, room 021. I attach the course summary and a detailed schedule of lectures with the assigned and suggested readings. The website for the course will always have the most up-to-date version of the summary and schedule, as well as links to many of the readings: http://strangebeautiful.com/lmu/2014-summer-sings-bhs-thermo.html Hope to see you there! Yours, Erik -- Erik Curiel Postdoctoral Fellow Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Ludwigstraße 31 80539 München, Deutschland http://strangebeautiful.com

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Philosophy of Quantum Information theory reading group next semester, and philosophy of physics courses at the mcmp
by Michael Cuffaro Feb. 27, 2014

Feb. 27, 2014

Dear all, next semester (summer term 2014) there will be a reading group on the philosophy of Quantum Information Theory at LMU. Everyone interested in the topic is encouraged to attend. It will occur bi-weekly on Wednesdays from 14:00 - 16:00. More information will follow as the summer term approaches. In the meantime, any suggestions for specific topics and/or readings in quantum information theory are welcome. Please email any suggestions to me privately. Please also note that the following courses in the philosophy of physics are being offered at the MCMP in the summer 2014 term (and should be cross-listed with the physics department shortly): - 10082, Classical Concepts in the History and Philosophy of Physics, SS 2014. - 10089, Advanced Topics in the Philosophy of Physics, SS 2014 - 10097, Singularities, Blackholes and Thermodynamics in Relativistic Spacetime, SS 2014 - 10083, Einstein for Everyone, SS 2014 For more information on these courses, please visit the LSF: https://lsf.verwaltung.uni-muenchen.de/qisserver/rds?state=user&type=0&noDB… Best wishes, -- Michael Cuffaro Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 80539 München, Deutschland http://www.michaelcuffaro.com

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Two Talks at the MCMP (10.&13. Feb) - Changed Rooms!
by Dardashti, Radin Feb. 9, 2014

Feb. 9, 2014

Speaker: Lev Vaidman (Tel Aviv) Monday 10th Feb 2014 Location: Ludwigstr. 33 room 144 Time: 18:15 - 19:45 Title: Sleeping Beauty in Quantumland Abstract: A recent philosophical controversy in the analysis of the probability puzzle about Sleeping Beauty is presented. The issue of probability in the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is reviewed. It is argued that that the analysis of the puzzle in the framework of the many-worlds interpretation helps to solve the Sleeping Beauty puzzle. ----------------------------------------------------- Speaker: Joseph Berkovitz (Toronto) Thursday 13th Feb 2014 Location: Ludwigstr. 33 room 144 Time: 18:15 - 19:45 Title: On Mathematical Explanations of Physical Facts Abstract: Modern physics is highly mathematical, and this may suggest that mathematics is bound to play some role in explaining the physical reality. Yet, there is an ongoing controversy about the prospects of mathematical explanations of physical facts and the nature of such explanations. A popular view has it that mathematics provides a rich and indispensable language for describing the physical reality but could not play any role in explaining physical facts. Even more prevalent is the view that physical facts are to be sharply distinguished from mathematical facts. Indeed, both sides of the debate seem to hold this view. Accordingly, the idea that mathematical facts could explain physical facts seems particularly puzzling: how could facts about abstract, non-physical entities possibly explain physical facts? In this paper, I challenge these common views. I argue that (1) in addition to its descriptive role, mathematics plays a constitutive role in modern physics: some general, fundamental features of the physical reality, as reflected by modern physics, are essentially mathematical; and that (2) this constitutive role is the source of mathematical explanations of physical facts. On the basis of this argument, I suggest an account of mathematical explanation of physical facts. I conclude by comparing this account to other existing accounts of mathematical explanations of physical facts.

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