Scientific Calendar Event



Starts 26 Jan 2023 16:00
Ends 26 Jan 2023 17:30
Central European Time
ICTP
Leonardo Building - Budinich Lecture Hall
Strada Costiera 11 34152 Trieste Italy
Sandu Popescu's main field of research centres on the conceptual and fundamental aspects of quantum physics. He is a pioneer of quantum information, best known for his work on entanglement and the associated phenomenon of non-locality, which are crucial for our current understanding of quantum theory. He has also worked on many other aspects of quantum theory, ranging from the very fundamental, to designing practical experiments (such as the first quantum teleportation experiment), to patentable commercial applications. ABSTRACT: Lecture 2: Thursday 26 January 2023, 16:00 Quantum non-locality and beyond Long considered to be a fringe aspect of quantum mechanics, non-locality is now understood to be one of the main aspects of nature. Popescu will explain, in elementary terms, what non-locality is. He will then focus on an even more exciting issue. That nonlocality can exist at all, given the constraints imposed by relativistic causality, is an extraordinary fact. Surprisingly, it was found that even stronger nonlocal correlations are possible in principle, without contradicting relativity. Whether or not such correlations exist in nature is an open experimental question. If they exist, quantum mechanics is wrong and has to be replaced. If they do not exist - why not? What is the fundamental physical principle that forbids them? Could quantum mechanics be derived not from the study of spectra of atoms and such but from taking the existence of non-locality and these new principles as basic axioms? Here, he will review some of the recent directions in the intensive effort to answer this question. All are welcome to attend. The Lecture Series is also available in livestreaming from the ICTP website. The Salam Distinguished Lectures Series receives generous support from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS).