Training School in Quantum Mechanics at the interface between physics and philosophy
More than 40 experts, young students and researchers converged on the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN in Frascati (Rome, Italy) on 19-21 December 2016 for the “Training school for graduating students, PhD students and young researchers. Are spin-statistics connection and quantum theory exact? The endeavor for the theory beyond the standard quantum mechanics”, organized in the framework of the John Templeton Foundation project: “Hunt for the “impossible atoms”: the quest for a tiny violation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle. Implications for physics, cosmology and philosophy”, led by Dr. Catalina Curceanu, and sponsored by the Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome and by INFN.
The main aim of the school was to train the young generation of physicists and offer a platform of discussions in hot issues of modern physics, especially related to open problems in quantum mechanics (QM), such as the theoretical, philosophical and experimental aspects of the spin-statistics connection. About 10 expert scientists and philosophers lectured on spin-statistics relation and its possible violation and on theories beyond the “standard” QM. The young participants, about 30 physics and philosophy students and young researchers, had an overview of those open questions which are not usually taught in university programs, enlarging their horizons to hot topics of basic science, with an opening to deep philosophical questions related to QM and its interpretation.
A review of the conceptual problems in testing the spin-statistics relation, i.e. the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP), was presented by Edoardo Milotti from the University and INFN of Trieste. He introduced a series of models implementing the violation of spin-statistics, showing that, even if a complete theoretical framework is yet to be formulated, there are ways to break the spin-statistics relation, inducing small violations which could be experimentally looked for. Johann Marton, from SMI-Vienna, discussed the VIP experiment at the Gran Sasso LNGS-INFN underground laboratory, searching for signals coming from atomic transitions prohibited by the PEP, testing spin-statistics relation for electrons. The atomic transitions violating PEP have a specific signature, their energy, the evaluation of which in a multi-configuration Dirac-Fock method was shown by Sergio Di Matteo, from University of Rennes 1. A.D. Dolgov, from NSU Novosibirsk and ITEP Moscow, discussed the neutrinos as possible messengers of the breaking the spin-statistics relation, addressing also some cosmological open problems. A philosophical introduction to the theory of individuals and non-individuals, in relation to QM and spin-statistics, was given by Matteo Morganti, from University Roma Tre.
Beatrix Hiesmayr, from Vienna University, lectured on QM and beyond, introducing Bell’s inequalities, the “spooky action at the distance”, for the illustration of which she played a game with students, and tests of quantum mechanics with neutral kaons entangled systems.
Theories alternative to the established QM were discussed by Angelo Bassi (University of Trieste), who introduced the collapse models, and, from the perspective of experimental testing, by Catalina Curceanu. Mauro D’Ariano (University of Pavia) presented an informational approach to QM and Hans Thomas Elze (University of Pisa) introduced the Cellular Automata.
Some of the young students gave presentations related to their activities, both in physics and philosophy.
On Tuesday, 20th December, a visit to the DAFNE Collider of LNF-INFN was organized for the participants.
The success of the school is certified by the positive and enthusiastic feedback sent by the participants after the event. One of the students, for instance, stated: “The school offered me the possibility of having a general view of the current situation, presenting a lot of different researches about “non-conventional” quantum mechanics and introducing me to some philosophical arguments. I’ve never studied philosophy of science but after this school I’m sure that the questions that this discipline suggests can help physicists to have a deeper view of what they are studying, therefore I really hope that collaboration and exchange between physicists and philosophers will be encouraged also for the future editions of this School. “ (Elena Losero, Torino).
More details, as well as the files of the presentations, can be found on the training school web-site:
https://agenda.infn.it/conferenceDisplay.py?ovw=True&confId=12060
The school was organized by Angelo Bassi (University of Trieste), Catalina Curceanu (LNF-INFN), Johann Marton (SMI-Vienna) and Matteo Morganti (University Roma Tre, Roma).
More than 40 experts, young students and researchers converged on the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, INFN in Frascati (Rome, Italy) on 19-21 December 2016 for the “Training school for graduating students, PhD students and young researchers. Are spin-statistics connection and quantum theory exact? The endeavor for the theory beyond the standard quantum mechanics”, organized in the framework of the John Templeton Foundation project: “Hunt for the “impossible atoms”: the quest for a tiny violation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle. Implications for physics, cosmology and philosophy”, led by Dr. Catalina Curceanu, and sponsored by the Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome and by INFN.
The main aim of the school was to train the young generation of physicists and offer a platform of discussions in hot issues of modern physics, especially related to open problems in quantum mechanics (QM), such as the theoretical, philosophical and experimental aspects of the spin-statistics connection. About 10 expert scientists and philosophers lectured on spin-statistics relation and its possible violation and on theories beyond the “standard” QM. The young participants, about 30 physics and philosophy students and young researchers, had an overview of those open questions which are not usually taught in university programs, enlarging their horizons to hot topics of basic science, with an opening to deep philosophical questions related to QM and its interpretation.
A review of the conceptual problems in testing the spin-statistics relation, i.e. the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP), was presented by Edoardo Milotti from the University and INFN of Trieste. He introduced a series of models implementing the violation of spin-statistics, showing that, even if a complete theoretical framework is yet to be formulated, there are ways to break the spin-statistics relation, inducing small violations which could be experimentally looked for. Johann Marton, from SMI-Vienna, discussed the VIP experiment at the Gran Sasso LNGS-INFN underground laboratory, searching for signals coming from atomic transitions prohibited by the PEP, testing spin-statistics relation for electrons. The atomic transitions violating PEP have a specific signature, their energy, the evaluation of which in a multi-configuration Dirac-Fock method was shown by Sergio Di Matteo, from University of Rennes 1. A.D. Dolgov, from NSU Novosibirsk and ITEP Moscow, discussed the neutrinos as possible messengers of the breaking the spin-statistics relation, addressing also some cosmological open problems. A philosophical introduction to the theory of individuals and non-individuals, in relation to QM and spin-statistics, was given by Matteo Morganti, from University Roma Tre.
Beatrix Hiesmayr, from Vienna University, lectured on QM and beyond, introducing Bell’s inequalities, the “spooky action at the distance”, for the illustration of which she played a game with students, and tests of quantum mechanics with neutral kaons entangled systems.
Theories alternative to the established QM were discussed by Angelo Bassi (University of Trieste), who introduced the collapse models, and, from the perspective of experimental testing, by Catalina Curceanu. Mauro D’Ariano (University of Pavia) presented an informational approach to QM and Hans Thomas Elze (University of Pisa) introduced the Cellular Automata.
Some of the young students gave presentations related to their activities, both in physics and philosophy.
On Tuesday, 20th December, a visit to the DAFNE Collider of LNF-INFN was organized for the participants.
The success of the school is certified by the positive and enthusiastic feedback sent by the participants after the event. One of the students, for instance, stated: “The school offered me the possibility of having a general view of the current situation, presenting a lot of different researches about “non-conventional” quantum mechanics and introducing me to some philosophical arguments. I’ve never studied philosophy of science but after this school I’m sure that the questions that this discipline suggests can help physicists to have a deeper view of what they are studying, therefore I really hope that collaboration and exchange between physicists and philosophers will be encouraged also for the future editions of this School. “ (Elena Losero, Torino).
More details, as well as the files of the presentations, can be found on the training school web-site:
https://agenda.infn.it/conferenceDisplay.py?ovw=True&confId=12060
The school was organized by Angelo Bassi (University of Trieste), Catalina Curceanu (LNF-INFN), Johann Marton (SMI-Vienna) and Matteo Morganti (University Roma Tre, Roma).
