Paris events/news

[GRINBAUM Alexei]

Dear all,

This is an update on the philosophy of physics events in Paris. The first French lab devoted primarily to the foundations of physics (and also to science and society issues) was officially created on January 1, called Laboratoire des recherches sur les sciences de la matière (LARSIM) and belonging to CEA (http://www.cea.fr/). We are located south of Paris on the plateau de Saclay, next to CEA's theoretical physics and condensed matter labs. Ecole Polytechnique and Universite d'Orsay are close. The lab currently has two permanent researchers: Etienne Klein (director) and myself, and will host two postdocs in 2007. Our plan is to grow to eight people, including PhD students, within the next three years. A website will be launched soon. Click to see where we are:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=48%C2%B042%2725.59%22N+++++2%C2%B0+8%2743.48%22E&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=18&ll=48.707229,2.145413&spn=0.001529,0.005364&t=k&iwloc=addr

French governmental agency called ANR approved a 3-year grant for developing research in the foundations of physics in Paris that will start in February 2007 and give us a chance to invite visitors and to host postdocs. Participating labs are CREA, IHPST and LARSIM.

Events in Paris in February:

February 2, 11h
CEA-Orme des Merisiers, bat. 774, Amphi Bloch
(Directions http://www-sphti.cea.fr/Phocea-SPhT/ast_visu_spht.php?id_ast=352)
Etienne Klein "Causalité et flèche du temps"

February 9, 11h
CEA-Orme des Merisiers, bat. 774, Amphi Bloch
(Directions http://www-sphti.cea.fr/Phocea-SPhT/ast_visu_spht.php?id_ast=352)
Alexei Grinbaum "Approches opérationnelles de la mécanique quantique"

February 16, 16h30
CREA, Salle 315
(Directions http://www.crea.polytechnique.fr/planacces.htm)
Joseph Berkowitz "On causal loops in local retro-causal interpretations of quantum mechanics"
Abstract:
In the quantum realm, there are curious correlations between distant events (between which light signals cannot travel). A famous example is the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) experiment. In this experiment, pairs of particles are emitted from a source, and when they are distant from each other they undergo measurement of various quantities. The outcomes of these measurements are curiously correlated. The EPR correlations strongly suggest the existence of non-local influences between the measurement events. Indeed, in his celebrated theorem John Bell demonstrated that, granted some very plausible premises, any quantum theory will predicate the existence of such non-local influences, which are very difficult to reconcile with relativity theory. One of the theorem's premises is that the probability of the states that particle pairs may assume at the emission is independent of the type of the measurements that they may undergo later on. While this assumption is both very natural and common, some physicists and philosophers suggested that local quantum theories would be possible if this assumption were violated. The main idea is to account for the EPR correlations by postulating local causal influences from the measurement events backwards to the state of the pair at the emission, rather than by non-local influences between these events. In this paper, I argue that in some experiments such local, retro-causal interpretations of quantum mechanics predicate the existence of closed causal loops (in which effects cause their causes). And while these interpretations need not be inconsistent, the possibility of such loops may undermine their predictive power.


February 22 and 23
Conference "Pragmatism and Quantum Mechanics" (organization Manuel Bächtold)
CREA, Amphithéâtre Stourdzé
(Directions http://www.crea.polytechnique.fr/planacces.htm)

Program:

Jeudi 22 février 2007
15h00-15h15: Introduction par M. Bächtold

1ère Partie - Le pragmatisme en philosophie des sciences
15h15-16h00: C. Chauviré, Peirce et la critique du déterminisme
16h00-16h45: I. Hacking, Pourquoi rejeter le pragmatisme ? Huit raisons et une cause
16h45-17h00: Pause
17h00-17h45: G. Garreta, Le « réalisme instrumental » de Dewey et la physique

Vendredi 23 février 2007

Suite de la 1ère Partie - Le pragmatisme en philosophie des sciences

9h15- 10h00: M. Girel, Pragmatisme et logique de la science. Sur le premier pragmatisme de Peirce (1877-1878)
10h00-10h45: C. Tiercelin, Pourquoi le pragmatisme implique le réalisme
10h45-11h00: Pause

2e Partie - Le pragmatisme en mécanique quantique
11h00-11h45: W. de Muynck, The Copenhagen interpretation and pragmatism
11h45-12h30: M. Bächtold, Towards a Pragmatist Justification of Quantum Mechanics
12h30-14h15: Pause déjeuner
14h15-15h00: C. Fuchs, Peirce, James, and the Quantum Bayesians
15h00-15h15: Pause
15h15-17h15: Table ronde, Critiques et défense du pragmatisme en mécanique quantique

Le débat s'ouvrira par quatre interventions critiques (de 15 minutes chacune) de :
- A. Grinbaum
- E. Klein
- J.-M. Lévy-Leblond
- H. Zwirn

17h15: Pot de clôture


With best wishes,

Alexei Grinbaum

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Dr. Alexei Grinbaum
CEA-Saclay, SPEC (Bat. 772)
91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
Tel +33 1 69 08 12 17
Fax +33 1 69 08 87 86
Email alexei.grinbaum at cea.fr 

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