[PhilPhys] Warsaw Spacetime Colloquium: Erik Curiel (9 April on Zoom)

[Antonio Vassallo]

(With apologies for cross-posting)

On Friday, 9 April, Erik Curiel (LMU Munich, Harvard University) will give
a talk entitled “The Dynamics of Classical Physics Determines the Structure
of Newtonian Spacetime; That of Quantum Physics Does Not” (abstract below).

The meeting will take place online on Zoom (17:00-19:00 CEST). If you have
not registered yet, you can do so by sending a message to
antonio.vassallo at pw.edu.pl.

The Colloquium is organized by the Philosophy of Physics Group
<https://icfo.ans.pw.edu.pl/en/?page_id=3168> at the International Center
for Formal Ontology (Warsaw University of Technology). The program for the
summer semester can be found here
<https://icfo.ans.pw.edu.pl/en/?page_id=3389>.

The recordings of the previous meetings are available on the ICFO's YouTube
channel
<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM-1yNCyvJJAfiq7LDFjfYc1I5OOxhJ1A>.

ABSTRACT
I describe a few theorems that show that, in classical mechanics (Newtonian
and Lagrangian mechanics), the intrinsic structure of the dynamics
naturally distinguishes the concept of interaction from that of evolution,
and, correlatively, position from momentum. One gets for free, moreover, a
characterization of “free” evolution (or “isolation”). This is not the case
in Hamiltonian and quantum mechanics. I show that the theorems allow one to
entirely reconstruct the full 4-dimensional spacetime structure of
Newtonian physics from classical dynamics, again in a way not possible in
quantum theory. Thus, the dynamics of quantum theory needs to be hooked up
to background spacetime structure “by hand” in a way not required in
classical mechanics. I conclude by discussing what I take to be the lessons
for all this with regard to the Measurement Problem: not only is the idea
of “measurement” problematic in quantum theory, but the entire idea of
“interaction” per se in quantum theory is more deeply problematic than has
been recognized. There may also be some lessons for quantum gravity
somewhere in here, but who really knows?
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