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SUMMARY:QSE Center's Quantum Seminar: Andreas Albrecht
DTSTART:20230920T123000
DTEND:20230920T140000
DTSTAMP:20260510T164726Z
UID:3be9b756f24ba6bcfe4981383bb378dce26fb1acf11a03146a31eb88
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Andreas Albrecht\nFor the first QSE Center Quantum Seminar o
 f the Autumn 2023 semester\, Prof. Andreas Albrecht from the University of
  California\, Davis will speak on Wednedsay\, September 20\, about the "O
 rigin of probabilities and their application to the multiverse". Location
 : CE 1 106\n\nPizzas will be available before the seminar at 12:30. All 
 PhDs\, postdocs\, students\, and PIs are welcome to join us.\n\nTITLE:\nOr
 igin of probabilities and their application to the multiverse\n \nABSTRAC
 T:\nI argue using simple examples (such as the coin flip) that all success
 ful practical uses of probabilities connect to physical randomness origina
 ting from quantum fluctuations in the microscopic physical world around us
 \, often propagated to macroscopic scales. Thus I claim there is no physic
 ally verified fully classical theory of probability.  And I argue that wh
 ile the “principle of indifference” often offers a great phenomenology
  of the physical world\, it has no fundamental basis in pure theory. I com
 ment on the general implications of this view\, and specifically question 
 the application of classical probability theory to cosmology in cases wher
 e key questions are known to have no quantum answer.  Overall\, this appr
 oach offers a certain disciplined perspective on probabilities in physical
  theories which may yield progress on the notorious measure problems assoc
 iated with eternal inflation.\nBased on this paper\n\nBIO:\nAndreas Albrec
 ht is a leading theoretical cosmologist. He received his PhD from the Univ
 ersity of Pennsylvania in 1983 where\, with Paul Steinhardt\, he wrote one
  of the original papers on “new” or “slow roll” inflation. Slow ro
 ll inflation has since become the dominant phenomenological theory of the 
 early Universe and has passed numerous observational tests with flying col
 ors. Deep puzzles remain regarding the theoretical underpinnings of cosmic
  inflation and Albrecht is a leading figure in this research area. Albrech
 t's work in the 1990's on observational signatures allowed modern data to 
 rule out a broad category of “active” theories of cosmic structure in 
 favor of the “passive” category (to which inflation belongs).\nThe dis
 covery of cosmic acceleration (celebrated by the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physi
 cs and often referred to as “the dark energy”) has been transformative
  to the field of cosmology. Albrecht is known for his groundbreaking work 
 on dark energy theory and phenomenology\, including key contributions on t
 he Dark Energy Task force and related work to determine the best observati
 onal probes of cosmic acceleration.\nAlbrecht is well-known for pioneering
  work on the arrow of time\, the clock ambiguity and the origin of probabi
 lities\, all topics that figure prominently in the current search for a mo
 re complete theory of the cosmos.\nAlbrecht moved from a Professorship at 
 Imperial College to UC Davis in 1998 to build the cosmology program there.
  He served as Physics Department Chair 2011-2016\, and in 2017 he was name
 d inaugural director of the Center for Quantum Mathematics and Physics (QM
 AP). He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences\, the Ame
 rican Physical Society\, the Institute of Physics and the American Associa
 tion for the Advancement of Science. His ongoing research program embraces
  a wide range of challenges posed by our search for a deeper understanding
  of the Universe.
LOCATION:CE 1 106 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==CE%201%20106
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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