Tuesday, 5 pm - 7:30 pm
SKN 1116

Course Description:
Beginning with the debate between Bohr and Einstein, we will consider precisely what it is about quantum mechanics that is so puzzling conceptually, and why Einstein thought the theory was explanatorily incomplete. The thesis that will be developed here is that the theory should be understood as reflecting the constraints on the theoretical representation of physical processes by certain 'no go' principles concerning the acquisition, representation, and communication of information: specifically, (i) the impossibility of superluminal information transfer between two systems by measurements on one of them, (ii) the impossibility of broadcasting the information in an unknown quantum state, and (iii) the impossibility of unconditionally secure bit commitment (a cryptographic protocol). Along the way, we will take a look at some exotic features of 'entangled states' - what Schrodinger regarded as 'the characteristic trait of quantum mechanics, the one that enforces its entire departure from classical lines of thought' - such as entanglement swopping, quantum teleportation, superdense coding, quantum key distribution, etc.

The course is intended to be self-contained, and we will emphasize philosophical issues throughout (the sense in which quantum mechanics provides an explanation of events, in view of the impossibility of a common causal explanation of the correlations of entangled states, the epistemological status of various interpretations of the theory, such as Bohmian mechanics and modal interpretations, what to say about the measurement problem, etc.). To get the most out of the course, however, a certain mathematical sophistication will be required - sufficient to understand the notion of entanglement presented formally.

Syllabus:
January 28: Introduction
February 4: Bohr vs Einstein. Readings. N. Bohr, 'The Quantum Postulate and the Recent Development of Atomic Theory' and 'Discussion with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics.' Einstein's 'Reply to Critics.'
February 11: The EPR argument and Schrodinger's reply. Readings: The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paper. Schrodinger's 2-part reply to EPR.
February 18: Entanglement and nonlocality. Readings: Extracts on nonlocality from J.Bub, Interpreting the Quantum World, pp. 40 - 63. Popescu and Rohrlich, 'The Joys of Entanglement.'
February 25: Entanglement and quantum information: entanglement swopping, quantum dense coding, quantum teleportation. Readings: A. Peres, 'Delayed Choice for Entanglement Swopping.' R. Jozsa, 'Quantum Information and It's Properties.'
March 4: More on entanglement and nonlocality. Readings: Rob Clifton: 'The Subtleties of Entanglement and it Role in Quantum Information Theory.'
March 11: Classical vs quantum information. C.G. Timpson, 'Information and the Turing Principle: Some Philosophical Implications.'
March 18: More on classical vs quantum information. C.G. Timpson, 'On the Supposed Conceptual Inadequacy of the Shannon Information.' Ari Duwell: 'Quantum Information Does Not Exist.'
March 25: Spring break
April 1: Some mathematics for quantum mechanics. Readings: Extracts from Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, by M.A. Nielsen and I.L. Chuang: Chapter 2: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics.
April 8: Introduction to quantum cryptology. Readings: H.-K. Lo, 'Quantum Cryptology.'
April 15: The foundational significance of the 'no unconditionally secure quantum bit commitment' theorem as an information-theoretic constraint. Readings: J. Bub, 'The Bit Commitment Theorem.'
April 22: Characterizing quantum theory in terms of information-theoretic constraints. Readings: Clifton, Bub, Halvorson, 'Characterizing Quantum Theory in Terms of Information-Theoretic Constraints.'
April 29: Back to Bohr vs Einstein. Readings: A. Einstein, 'What is Relativity?' Don Howard, 'A Brief on Behalf of Bohr.'
May 4: The thermodynamics of quantum information. Readings: D. Rohrlich, 'Thermodynamical Analogues in Quantum Information Theory.'
May 13: The measurement problem and Bohm's theory. Readings: Schrodinger's cat paper. J.S. Bell on Bohm's theory and many worlds in 'Quantum Mechanics for Cosmologists'. Jeff Barrett on Bohm's theory and 'surrealistic Bohmian trajectories' in The Quantum Mechanics of Minds and Worlds, pp. 121 - 148.

Grades:
Grades will be assigned on the basis of a term paper. Students will be required to submit a draft or prospectus by March 18 (the week before the midterm break).

Office Hours:
Mon/Wed 10 am - 11 am, or by appointment.
Email me at: jbub@carnap.umd.edu.

Readings:
Note: I will update these readings from time to time. Readings available in the Philosophy Department lounge for copying are indicated by a *.

*N. Bohr: Complementarity: 'The Quantum Postulate and the Recent Development of Atomic Theory,' in Quantum Theory and Measurement, J.A. Wheeler and W. H. Zurek (eds.), pp. 85 - 126. Originally printed in Nature 121, 580 - 590 (1928). Reprinted in Niels Bohr (Cambridge University Press, 1934), pp. 52 - 91.

*N. Bohr, 'Discussion with Einstein on Epistemological Problems in Atomic Physics,' in Quantum Theory and Measurement, J.A. Wheeler and W. H. Zurek (eds.), pp. 1 - 49.

*Einstein's 'Reply to Critics,' pp. 665 - 688 in P.A. Schilpp (ed.), Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist. The Library of Living Philosophers, Volume VII (Open Court, 1991).

*W. Pauli, Extracts from Writings on Physics and Philosophy, pp. 27 - 42.

*The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paper and Bohr's reply, pp. 137 - 151 in Quantum Theory and Measurement, J.A. Wheeler and W. H. Zurek (eds.). A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, N. Rosen, 'Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality be Considered Complete?' Physical Review 47, 777 - 780 (1935).

*Schrodinger's 2-part reply to EPR: 'Discussion of Probability Relations Between Separated Systems,' Proc.Camb.Phil.Soc. 31, 553 - 563 (1935) and 'Probability Relations Between Separated Systems,' Proc.Camb.Phil.Soc. 32, 446 - 552 (1936).

*J. Bub, extracts on nonlocality from Interpreting the Quantum World, pp. 40 - 63.

Rob Clifton, 'The Subtleties of Entanglement and its Role in Quantum Information Theory,' http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/documents/disk0/00/00/01/96/index.html.

*S. Popescu and D. Rohrlich, 'The Joy of Entanglement,' in Introduction to Qantum Computation and Information, edited by H-K Lo, S. Popescu, and T. Spiller (World Scientific: 1998), pp. 29 - 48.

A. Peres 'Delayed Choice for Entanglement Swopping,' http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/9904042.

*R. Jozsa, 'Quantum Information and It's Properties,' in Introduction to Qantum Computation and Information, edited by H.-K. Lo, S. Popescu, and T. Spiller (World Scientific: 1998), pp. 49 -75.

C.G. Timpson, 'Information and the Turing Principle: Some Philosophical Implications,' http://users.ox.ac.uk/~quee0776/thesis.html.

C.G. Timpson, 'On the Supposed Conceptual Inadequacy of the Shannon Information,' http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0112178.

*Ari Duwell, 'Quantum Information Does Not Exist.'

*Extracts from Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, by M.A. Nielsen and I.L. Chuang: Chapter 2: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics.

*H.-K. Lo, 'Quantum Cryptology,' in Introduction to Qantum Computation and Information, edited by H-K Lo, S. Popescu, and T. Spiller (World Scientific: 1998), pp. 76 -119.

J. Bub, 'The Bit Commitment Theorem,' Foundations of Physics, Volume 31, Number 5 (May 2001). http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/007090.

R. Clifton, J. Bub, H. Halvorson, 'Characterizing Quantum Theory in Terms of Information-Theoretic Constraints.' With Rob Clifton and Hans Halvorson. Forthcoming in Foundations of Physics, 2003. http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0211089.

*Don Howard: 'A Brief on Behalf of Bohr'(unpublished).

*A. Einstein: 'What is Relativity?' in Ideas and Opinions (Bonanza Books, New York, 1964), pp. 227 - 232.

D. Rohrlich, 'Thermodynamical Analogues in Quantum Information Theory,' http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/quant-ph/0107026.

*Schrodinger's cat paper: 'The Present Situtation in Quantum Mechanics,' pp. 152 - 167 in Quantum Theory and Measurement, J.A. Wheeler and W. H. Zurek (eds.).

*J.S. Bell, 'Quantum Mechanics for Cosmologists,' in (Cambridge University Press, 1987), pp. 117 - 138.

*Jeffrey A. Barrett, chapter on Bohm's theory in The Quantum Mechanics of Minds and Worlds (Oxford university Pres, 1999), pp. 121 - 148.

See also:
Rob Clifton, 'Introductory Notes on the Mathematics Needed for Quantum Theory,' http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/documents/disk0/00/00/03/90/index.html.

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