Abstract: Quantum mechanics is a theory of wave functions in Hilbert space. Many features that we generally take for granted when we use quantum mechanics -- classical spacetime, locality, the system/environment split, measurement, preferred observables, the Born rule for probabilities -- should in principle be derivable from the basic ingredients of the quantum state and the Hamiltonian. I will discuss recent progress on these problems, including consequences for emergent spacetime and quantum gravity.
Speaker:
Sean Carroll
Sean Carroll's official title is Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins, and he is also Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He is interested in how the world works at the deepest levels, which leads him to do research in physics and philosophy. His current interests include foundational questions in quantum mechanics, spacetime, statistical mechanics, complexity, and cosmology, with occasional dabblings elsewhere.
This is lecture 2 of 3 in the 2026 Heilborn Lecture Series. Please visit our website for more information.
Keywords: Physics, Heilborn
Laura Nevins
Email