25–28 May 2026
Albano Building 3
Europe/Stockholm timezone

Density Matrix Realism, Arrows of Time, and Observation Typicality

26 May 2026, 14:00
40m
Albano 3: 4204 - SU Conference Room (56 seats) (Albano Building 3)

Albano 3: 4204 - SU Conference Room (56 seats)

Albano Building 3

Hannes Alfvéns väg 12, 114 19 Stockholm
56
Invited Talk Philosophy

Speaker

Prof. Eddy Chen (University of California San Diego)

Description

According to density matrix realism, the quantum state of the universe is objective but could be fundamentally mixed. I develop this framework and motivate it using considerations about the arrows of time. I then present a new class of results—observation typicality—which establish fundamental limits on our ability to infer or distinguish universal quantum states from observations. I explore how these epistemic constraints bear on the choice between density matrix realism and wave function realism.
(Related papers: https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.01025; https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.16860)

Author

Prof. Eddy Chen (University of California San Diego)

Presentation materials

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