[Theory-seminars] Theory Seminar TODAY

[Pia Jones Petrak]

Hey everyone,

We will be having a remote Theory seminar *today at 1pm*. Even though 
it's remote *please join us in L102 or on Zoom*. Below is the info*
*
*
*
Speaker: Jacob Barandes (Harvard University)

Zoom:**https://jlab-org.zoomgov.com/j/1607122942?pwd=jwL6454csz4ssfGwtKJY8HawT0XqYU.1
*
*
Titel: Probability, Indivisibility, and Quantum Theory

Abstract:
In textbooks, quantum theory is usually defined in terms of a 
complicated collection of abstract mathematical ingredients, like wave 
functions, Hilbert spaces, and self-adjoint operators. One then plugs 
these ingredients into special formulas that produce probabilities that 
we can verify with laboratory measurements. But the axioms of the 
textbook theory do not explain why these special formulas are true, or 
how probabilities emerge from them. The axioms also exhibit various 
ambiguities and gaps, the most famous of which is known as “the 
measurement problem.”

Quantum foundations is an area of research devoted to studying and 
resolving these sorts of problems. Over the past century, these efforts 
have produced a remarkable number of important spin-offs, including 
entanglement, decoherence, quantum advantage, and the Bell inequality 
(which led to the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics). It would be an 
understatement to say that a large fraction of current research in 
physics relies on these spin-offs.

In this talk, I will describe a novel approach to quantum foundations 
based on a newly discovered correspondence between quantum systems and 
“indivisible” stochastic processes. After explaining what indivisible 
stochastic processes are, starting from their first appearance in the 
research literature in 2021, I will show how to use this correspondence 
to reconstruct quantum theory in terms of ordinary notions of 
probability playing out through a classical picture of the world. The 
resulting indivisible formulation of quantum theory does not include 
wave functions or Hilbert spaces among its physical objects. Nor does it 
involve parallel universes, pilot waves, alive-and-dead cats, or other 
famously exotic ingredients.

The indivisible theory makes the world safe for ordinary probability 
theory, potentially opens the door to new generalizations of quantum 
theory, and suggests that quantum theory and quantum computers might 
provide more efficient techniques for simulating stochastic processes 
beyond the Markov approximation, with potential applications for 
statistical modeling, finance, neuroscience, and ecology, among other areas.

Bio:
Jacob Barandes did his PhD in quantum gravity at Harvard, where he is 
now on the faculty with appointments in both the physics and philosophy 
departments, and is also a faculty affiliate with Harvard's Black Hole 
Initiative. Jacob's work consists of “philosophical physics,” in which 
one uses the tools of analytic philosophy to make progress on open 
problems in physics, as well as “physical philosophy,” which means 
trying to determine what our best physical theories can tell us about 
questions in metaphysics and the philosophy of science. He is 
particularly interested in quantum foundations and the metaphysics of 
causation. In addition to his research and teaching at Harvard, Jacob 
organizes Harvard's annual New England Workshop on the History and 
Philosophy of Physics, as well as a regular seminar series on the 
foundations and philosophy of physics.

Best wishes,
Adam, Joe, Pia

-- 
Pia Leonie Jones Petrak
Postdoctoral Fellow
Theoretical and Computational Physics Center
Jefferson Lab
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mailman.jlab.org/pipermail/theory-seminars/attachments/20251006/f5b2b86c/attachment.htm>