The Pseudo-Density Matrix Formulation for Quantum Physics

Abstract: The pseudo-density matrix (PDM) is a generalization of the quantum mechanical density operator to include temporal quantum correlations. The resulting picture of quantum physics is timeless, although it is different to the Page-Wootters “dynamics without dynamics” formulation. Moreover, while the Page-Wootters formalism can be understood as a mere reparametrisation of the usual quantum dynamics, PDMs might well be necessary in the domain where quantum physics and general relativity hold an equal sway. Dr. Vedral will introduce the basic features of PDMs and show how they are designed to treat spatial and temporal correlations on an equal footing, thereby being suitable in the domain where the spacelike and timelike intervals cannot physically even be discriminated. Dr. Vedral will present some recent experiments on PDMs that implement simulations of how PDMs can be useful in the presence of closed time-like loops as well as how quantum dynamics can be seen as teleportation “in time” via PDMs.

Speaker:
Vlatko Vedral (PhD and BSc at Imperial College) is a professor of quantum information at University of Oxford. He has published over 400 research papers on various topics in quantum physics and quantum computing and is one of the Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers. He has given numerous invited plenary and public talks during his career. These include a specialised talk at a Solvay meeting (2010) and a popular one at the International Safe Scientifique (2007). He was awarded the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award in 2007, the World Scientific Medal and Prize in 2009, the Marko Jaric Award in 2010 and was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in 2017 and a member of the European Academy of Sciences in 2020. He is consulting the World Economic Forum on the Future of Computation. Dr. Vedral is the author of 4 textbooks and 2 popular books (“Decoding Reality” and “From Micro to Macro”). He gives regular interviews to the media and is actively engaged in popularization of physics also by writing for New Scientist, Scientific American and major UK and overseas newspapers.

Moderator: Pawel Gora, CEO of Quantum AI Foundation and Dr. Sebastian Zajac, member of QPoland

Zoom link will be emailed to registered participants no later than 1 hour prior to the event start time.
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