Talks

We will review the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, first formulated by Werner Heisenberg in 1927, and the role they played in the famous debate between Einstein and Bohr on the meaning of quantum theory. Along the way we will focus on questions like: what do we mean by "uncertainty", and how do we express that in the theory? What, in fact, is a physical property? Does a theory like quantum mechanics provide a description of physical reality? Interestingly, some of these questions do not have a unique answer.

Put two physicists in a room and ask them to talk about the interpretation of quantum mechanics. This is a recipe for disagreement; the mysteries of quantum theory run so deep that it’s hard to find any interpretive claims that are immune to controversy. Therefore, when thinking about quantum theory, it is a useful tactic to first focus on the macroscopic facts it predicts while ignoring the formalism and what it might suggest about the constitution of reality. I will adopt this tactic in my talk to describe the strange features of sequences of Stern-Gerlach measurements. This background will be enough to formulate the principle of “no information gain without disturbance” and the technological possibilities it implies, such as money that can’t be counterfeit and secure ways of distributing secret keys for cryptography. I’ll then move on to explain one idea about what might be going on at a deeper level – the idea of hidden variables. Finally, I’ll present Bell’s theorem, a result that reveals an uncomfortable tension between quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity.

The speculation that Dark Energy can be explained by the backreaction of present inhomogeneities on the evolution of the background cosmology has been increasingly debated in the recent literature. We demonstrate quantitively that the backreaction of linear perturbations on the Friedmann equations is small but is nevertheless non-vanishing. This indicates the need for an improved averaging procedure capable of averaging tensor quantities in a generally covariant way. We present an averaging process which decomposes the metric into Vielbeins selected employing a variational principle, and parallel-transports them to a single point at which they can be averaged. The functionality of the process is discussed in specific 2-d examples, and its application to 3-surfaces and metric recovery in cosmology is outlined.

One of the quintessential features of quantum information is its exclusivity, the inability of strong quantum correlations to be shared by many physical systems. Likewise, complementarity has a similar status in quantum mechanics as the sine qua non of quantum phenomena. We show that this is no coincidence, and that the central role of exclusivity in quantum information theory stems from the phenomenon of complementarity. We adopt an information-theoretic approach to complementarity, which leads to a new and simple definition of private states and new proofs of the achievable asymptotic rates of both secret key and entanglement distillation. From the latter follows a new proof of the direct part of the quantum noisy channel coding theorem.

A discussion of how the zero point energy of atoms is what makes possible their existence in our universe – atoms are purely quantum mechanical objects.
Learning Outcomes:
• Continuation of QM-9: A calculus-based derivation of the zero point energy of the quantum harmonic oscillator.
• How our previous understanding of energy quantization and zero point energy can be applied also to the hydrogen atom.
• Why classical atoms cannot exist in our universe, and how the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and associated zero point energy stabilizes atoms, making their existence possible.

Understanding the zero point energy of the quantum harmonic oscillator as a consequence of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
Learning Outcomes:
• Understanding why the minimum energy of a ball in a bowl must be greater than zero based on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
• How the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle adds a purely quantum mechanical kinetic energy to the ball, in addition to its classical potential energy.
• Understanding graphically how the total energy – the sum of the classical potential energy and the new quantum kinetic energy – has a minimum that is greater than zero: the zero point energy.

A continuation of the SR-10 discussion on length contraction. Resolving Principle 2*.
Learning Outcomes:
• Relativity of simultaneity revisited – gaining a deeper understanding of what it means.
• A full understanding of the nature of length contraction based on relativity of simultaneity.
• Resolving a key paradox in special relativity: Principle 2*, introduced in SR-4. How it is possible to measure the same speed for the light whether you are running toward or away from a flashlight.

A discussion of the space and time axes of a moving observer and an introduction to length contraction.
Learning Outcomes:
• Understanding why and by how much a moving observer’s position axis is “tilted in time.”
• Understanding how a moving platform appears to a stationary observer.
• Beginning to understand the cause of length contraction.