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Reading Group Philosophy of Physics
by Dardashti, Radin Oct. 21, 2013

Oct. 21, 2013

So this time with complete information: The Reading Group will take place Wednesdays at 2pm c.t. in Ludwigstr.25, room D4C. Best, Radin _______________________________________ Dear all, The Topic of this terms Philosophy of Physics Reading Group is: Black Holes, Information and Thermodynamics. starting next week (Oct.23) the Reading Group will take place bi-weekly. The Location is Ludwigstr.25, Room D4C. (To get there, take the southern entry of Ludwigstr.25, i.e. the one closer to Odeonsplatz, and grab the elevator to the D floor, which is one above the 5th floor. Then follow the signs.) The first session will be introductory. Topics and reading material will be discussed. Hope to see many of you there. Best wishes, Radin

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Michael Krämer at LMU, October 23, 2013
by Michael Cuffaro Oct. 18, 2013

Oct. 18, 2013

Dear all, please join us for the following: Speaker: Michael Krämer (RWTH Aachen) Wednesday 23rd October 2013 Ludwigstr.31 Room E021 Time: 6 to 8 pm Title: Searches for the Higgs and new physics at the Large Hadron Collider Abstract: I will review the physics of the Large hadron Collider LHC, including the recent discovery of a Higgs particle, and the search for new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics. While the talk focusses on the physics, I will also mention various philosophical questions which are being addressed in the context of an interdisciplinary research group on the "Epistemology of the LHC". Best wishes, -- Michael Cuffaro Postdoctoral Fellow Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie Fakultät für Philosophie, Wissenschaftstheorie und Religionswissenschaft Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 80539 München, Deutschland http://www.michaelcuffaro.com

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Foundations of Quantum Mechanics Seminar
by Dardashti, Radin Oct. 17, 2013

Oct. 17, 2013

Dear all, our "Foundations of Quantum Mechanics" joint seminar with Stanford continues next week with Stephan Hartmann (MCMP). He will talk about "The use of non-monotonic Upper and Lower Probabilities in Quantum Mechanics". Location: Martiusstr.4, Room 104. Time: Monday Oct. 21, 6pm (s.t.) If you have no access to the dropbox folder yet, feel free to email me. Best wishes, Radin

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Philosophy of Physics Reading Group
by Dardashti, Radin Oct. 17, 2013

Oct. 17, 2013

Dear all, The Topic of this terms Philosophy of Physics Reading Group is: Black Holes, Information and Thermodynamics. starting next week (Oct.23) the Reading Group will take place bi-weekly. The Location is Ludwigstr.25, Room D4C. (To get there, take the southern entry of Ludwigstr.25, i.e. the one closer to Odeonsplatz, and grab the elevator to the D floor, which is one above the 5th floor. Then follow the signs.) The first session will be introductory. Topics and reading material will be discussed. Hope to see many of you there. Best wishes, Radin

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"Foundations of Quantum Mechanics" Seminar with Stanford University starting on the 14th Oct.
by Dardashti, Radin Oct. 10, 2013

Oct. 10, 2013

Dear all, Starting on the 14th of October we will be having a joint seminar with Stanford on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. We will meet every Monday at 6pm sharp (s.t.) in Martiusstr.4, room 104, where we have the equipment for video-conferencing. (NOTE: The room is different from the room originally announced on the LSF-System). The first speaker will be Tom Ryckman (Stanford) on "Measuring and Manipulating individual Quantum Systems". If you are interested in attending please email me (Radin.Dardashti(a)lrz.uni-muenchen.de) so I can invite you to the dropbox folder where relevant literature for each session will be shared. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Best wishes, Radin

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Talk by James Owen Weatherall at MCMP (Fri. 19. July)
by Dardashti, Radin July 13, 2013

July 13, 2013

Speaker: James Owen Weatherall (UC Irvine) Friday 19th July 2013 Ludwigstr.31 Room E021 Time: 6 to 8 pm Title: Inertial Motion, Explanation, and the Foundations of Classical Space-time Theories. Abstract: There is an influential view in physics and philosophy of physics, originating with Einstein and Eddington, that holds that general relativity is distinctive in the history of physics because it can be used to "explain" inertial, or unforced, motion. In this talk, I will describe how a reformulation of Newtonian gravitation may be used to provide insight into claims concerning the (allegedly) distinctive explanatory resources of relativity theory. I will then argue that Newtonian gravitation can be understood to explain inertial motion in much the same way as general relativity. However, a careful comparative study of the status of inertial motion in the two theories reveals that neither explanation is as clean or straightforward as adherents to the view noted above believe. I will conclude by presenting a view about the interdependencies of the central principles of physical theories that I will argue provides some insight into a sense in which inertial motion is explained in both of these theories.

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Talk by Michael Stoeltzner at MCMP (Wed. 17. July)
by Dardashti, Radin July 11, 2013

July 11, 2013

Speaker: Michael Stoeltzner (South Carolina) Wednesday 17th July 2013 Ludwigstr.31 Room E021 Time: 6 to 8 pm Title: Feynman Diagrams as Models Abstract: While Feynman considered his diagrams as pictorial representation of (real and virtual) physical processes, Dyson took then as a mere bookkeeping tool for mathematical expressions in a perturbation series. This split perspective has persisted since, especially when Feynman diagrams gradually extended their sway into modern particle physics. I argue that the modern debates on models in science can build a bridge between both perspectives by granting Feynman diagrams some explanatory autonomy and representative features. While a single Feynman diagram remains isomorph to a mathematical expression, it also represents a family of diagrams that model a measurable physical effect.

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Talk by Tom Pashby at MCMP (Thu. 11. July)
by Dardashti, Radin July 6, 2013

July 6, 2013

Speaker: Tom Pashby (Pittsburgh) Wednesday 11th July 2013 Ludwigstr.31 Room E021 Time: 6 to 8 pm Title: Letting Things Happen: Quantum Mechanics as a Theory of Events Abstract: In this paper I argue for two controversial claims. The first is that Ordinary Quantum Mechanics, which represents observables by self-adjoint operators on a Hilbert space and propositions by projections, is inadequate for the description of many experimental setups involving non-instantaneous measurements. Ordinary QM thus fails to be empirically adequate. The second claim is that quantum mechanics, properly understood, is not a theory of wavefunctions and their dynamical evolution but of conditional probabilities for the occurrence of events at particular times. Moreover, I argue that the second claim follows from addressing the first. That is, I claim that in order to accommodate experiments of the type that Ordinary QM fails to describe one is led towards the view that quantum mechanics concerns the occurrence of physical events rather than the dynamical evolution of a material object. There are two steps in the progression. First, I advocate the use of so-called event time or time of occurrence observables, which do not correspond to self-adjoint operators. Second, to accommodate multi-case conditionalisation I advocate the use of the Extended Schroedinger Equation, which applies to functions of time and space rather than of space alone and so is not a dynamical equation for a spatial wavefunction.

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Talk by Christian Joas at MCMP (Wed. 26. June)
by Dardashti, Radin June 25, 2013

June 25, 2013

Speaker: Christian Joas (LMU Munich) Wednesday 26th June 2013 Ludwigstr.31 Room E021 Time: 4 to 6 pm Title: Metaphysics and Theoretical Practice: Erwin Schrödinger's Methodology of Physics Abstract: Erwin Schrödinger's position in the interpretational debates surrounding quantum mechanics has traditionally been viewed as displaying a realist attitude towards theory. Wessels, Bitbol, and de Regt have shown that Schrödinger's position was more complex and ultimately grounded in a Boltzmannian tradition: Like Boltzmann, Schrödinger was not a naive realist, but had a sophisticated understanding of the role of models in physical theory which informed his methodology of physics. I argue that understanding Schrödinger's methodology is crucial to understanding not only his stance on the interpretation of quantum mechanics, but also more generally his creative work in the development of new theories. I will illustrate this by examining an ambitious theory of solids that Schrödinger advanced in one of his first theoretical papers, his development of wave mechanics, and his attempts at applying wave mechanics beyond the hydrogen atom that led him to early insights into entanglement. Schrödinger's position in the interpretational debate did not stem from metaphysical prejudice, but was deeply rooted in his theoretical practice.

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Talk by Alexander Afriat at MCMP (Thu. 30. May)
by Dardashti, Radin May 24, 2013

May 24, 2013

Speaker: Alexander Afriat (Brest) Wednesday 30th May 2013 Ludwigstr.31 Room E021 Time: 6 to 8 pm Title: Weyl’s gauge argument Abstract: The standard U(1) “gauge principle” or “gauge argument” produces an exact potential A = dλ and a vanishing field F = ddλ = 0. Weyl has his own gauge argument, which is sketchy, archaic and hard to follow; but at least it produces an inexact potential A and a nonvanishing field F = dA ≠ 0. I attempt a reconstruction. Pre-print: http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/9597/

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