Information & Physics Seminar - FS24, USI

Course information



Time Room Professor

Wednesdays 13.00-15.00 D0.03 → Stefan Wolf

Subject of this seminar

In this seminar, topics related to quantum information science, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, information theory and cryptography will be available (3 ECTS → Course Catalogue for more information). An overview on the different topics will be given and papers will be assigned to the students.

For questions please contact William Schober or Stefan Wolf.

Preliminary list of papers

A: Science as a Human Endeavour

Papers Date and speakers
[1]
The human condition, H. Arendt (1998) PDF
17 April: Carmen Armenti
[2]
The Scent of Time: A Philosophical Essay on the Art of Lingering, Byung-Chul Han (2009)
10 April: Jovy Dinglasan
[3]
The genesis and development of a scientific fact, L. Fleck (1979) PDF
17 April: Sophie Macdonald
[4]
Nepotism and sexism in peer-review, C. Wenneras, A. Wold (1997) PDF
The academic manifesto: From an occupied to a public university, W. Halffman, H. Radder (2015) PDF
10 April: Samuele Pasini (a), 29 May: Alessandro Giagnorio and Ketai Qiu (b)
[5]
Rationalism, relativism, and the scientific method, P. Feyerabend (1981) PDF
How to defend society against science, P. Feyerabend (1975) PDF
Erkenntnis für freie Menschen, P. Feyerabend (1980)
24 April: Pouria Peykani Sani (a), 17 April: Riccardo Galfetti (b)
[6]
The quest for certainty, J. Dewey (1929)
[7]
Sinnliche Elemente und naturwissenschaftliche Begriffe, E. Mach (1910)
[8]
Penser dans un monde mauvais, G. de Lagasnerie (2017)
[9]
The Art of Revolt: Snowden, Assange, Manning, G. de Lagasnerie (2017)

B: The Physical Nature of Information

Papers Date and speakers
[10]
The work value of information, O. Dahlsten, R. Renner, E. Rieper, V. Vedral (2009) PDF
Demonic heat engines, B. W. Schumacher (1994) PDF
29 May: Shifat Sahariar Bhuiyan (a), Foteini Rorri (b)
[11]
Work recoverable from two-particle information, L. B. Levitin, T. Toffoli (2012) PDF
[12]
Simulating physics with computers, R. Feynman (1982) PDF
[13]
The physical nature of information, R. Landauer (1996) PDF
Irreversibility and heat generation in the Computing Process, R. Landauer (1961) PDF
[14]
Information, physics, quantum: The search for links, J. A. Wheeler (1990) PDF
[15]
Quantum gloves: Physics and information, N. Gisin (2004) PDF
[16]
Thermodynamics of computation, C. Bennett (1980) PDF
[17]
Reversible computing, T. Toffoli (1980) PDF
Conservative logic, E. Fredkin, T. Toffoli (1982) PDF
17 April: Stefano Campanella and Joey Bevilacqua (a)
[18]
NP-complete problems and physical reality, S. Aaronson (2005) PDF
[19]
Three approaches to the quantitative definition of information, A. N. Kolmogorov (1965) PDF
10 April: Alex Bortolotti
[20]
Could the physical world be emergent instead of fundamental, and why should we ask?, M. Mueller (2017) PDF

C: The Arrow of Time and Causality

Papers Date and speakers
[21]
The end of time, J. B. Barbour (1999)
The emergence of time and its arrow from timelessness, J. B. Barbour (1994) PDF
24 April: Kaan Egemen Sen and Simone Tarenzi
[22]
The direction of time, H.Reichenbach (1971)
8 May: Claudio Maggioni and Vijaya Bhargavi
[23]
Complexity in the universe, C. H. Bennett (1994) PDF
24 April: Jury Andrea D’Onofrio
[24]
"Time" replaced by quantum correlations, W. K. Wootters (1984) PDF
8 May: Francesco Vitali
[25]
Autonomous quantum clocks: does thermodynamics limit our ability to measure time?, P. Erker, M. T. Mitchison, R. Silva, M. P. Woods, N. Brunner, M. Huber (2017) PDF
29 May: Rahul Shah
[26]
Is time asymmetry logically prior to quantum mechanics?, W. K. Wootters (1994) PDF
8 May: Qinyou Wang
[27]
Evolution und Entropiewachstum, C. F. von Weizsäcker (1972) PDF
[28]
Dokumente, C. F. von Weizsäcker (1986)
[29]
The ghost in the quantum Turing machine, S. Aaronson (2013) PDF
15 May: Sofia d'Atri
[30]
On the notion of cause, with application to the free-will problem, B. Russell (1935) PDF
15 May: Guanyu Chen
[31]
Kausalität in der Physik, G. Hermann (1935) PDF
[32]
Quantum correlations with no causal order, O. Oreshkov, F. Costa, C. Brukner (2012) PDF
[33]
Causality - complexity - consistency: Can space-time be based on logic and computation?, Ä. Baumeler, S. Wolf (2016) PDF
[34]
Enhanced Communication With the Assistance of Indefinite Causal Order, D. Ebler, S. Salek, G. Chiribella (2017) PDF
15 May: Giuseppe Crupi

D: Information and Quantum Physics

Papers Date and speakers
[35]
Can quantum mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete?, A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, N. Rosen (1935) PDF
15 May: Aaron Collavini
[36]
On the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox, J. S. Bell (1964) PDF
15 May: Aaron Collavini
[37]
The two Bell's theorems of John Bell, H. M. Wiseman (2014) PDF
Hidden variables and the two theorems of John Bell, N. D. Mermin (1993) PDF
[38]
Nonlocality for two particles without inequalities for almost all entangled states, L. Hardy (1993) PDF
A unified view on Hardy's paradox and the CHSH inequality, L. Mancinska, S. Wehner (2014) PDF
[39]
Bertlmann's socks and the nature of reality, J. S. Bell (1981) PDF
[40]
Loopholes in Bell inequality tests of local realism, J.-A. Larsson (2014) PDF
[41]
Die Logik nicht gleichzeitig entscheidbarer Aussagen, E. Specker (1960) PDF
Specker's parable of the over-protective seer: A road to contextuality, nonlocality and complementarity, Y.-C. Liang, R. W. Spekkens, H. M. Wiseman (2011) PDF
[42]
The problem of hidden variables in quantum mechanics, S. Kochen, E. P. Specker (1967)
Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem: A proof with 18 vectors, A. Cabello, J. M. Estebaranz, G. G. Alcaine (1996) PDF
29 May: Paul McKarris (a)
[43]
What does an experimental test of quantum contextually prove or disprove?, A. Winter (2014) PDF
[44]
Cost of exactly simulating quantum entanglement with classical communication, B. Brassard, R. Cleve, A. Tapp (1999) PDF
Communication cost of simulating Bell correlations, D. Bacon, B. Toner (2003) PDF
[45]
Quantum pseudo-telepathy and the Kochen-Specker theorem, R. Renner, S. Wolf (2004) PDF
[46]
No quantum advantage for nonlocal computation, N. Linden, S. Popescu, A. J. Short, A. Winter (2006) PDF
[47]
Information causality as a physical principle, M. Pawlowski, T. Paterek, D. Kaszlikowski, V. Scarani, A. Winter, M. Zukowski (2009) PDF
A limit on nonlocality in any world in which communication complexity is not trivial, G. Brassard, H. Buhrman, N. Linden, A. Methot, A. Tapp, F. Unger (2005) PDF
[48]
A glance beyond the quantum model, M. Navascues, H. Wunderlich (2009) PDF
PR-Box correlations have no classical limit, D. Rohrlich (2014) PDF
Quantum measurement of spins and magnets, and the classical limit of PR-boxes, N. Gisin (2014) PDF
[49]
The prospects of quantum computing in computational molecular biology, C. Outeiral, M. Strahm, J. Shi, G. M. Morris, S. C. Benjamin, C. M. Deane (2020) PDF

E: Quantum Cryptography

Papers Date and speakers
[50]
Quantum cryptography: Public key distribution and coin tossing, C. H. Bennett, G. Brassard (1984) PDF
Quantum cryptography based on Bell's theorem, A. Ekert (1991) PDF
15 May: Luis Loya Cabrera
[51]
No signaling and quantum key distribution, J. Barrett, L. Hardy, A. Kent (2005) PDF
[52]
The black paper of quantum cryptography: Real implementation problems, V. Scarani, C. Kurtsiefer (2009) PDF
22 May: Erifeoluwa Jamgbadi
[53]
Unconditionally secure bit commitment, A. Kent (1998) PDF
[54]
Unconditionally secure quantum bit commitment is impossible, D. Mayers (1996) PDF
Is Quantum Bit Commitment Really Possible?, H.-K. Lo, H. F. Chau (1996) PDF
29 May: Bedi Navdeep Singh
[55]
Free randomness can be amplified, R. Colbeck, R. Renner (2012) PDF
[56]
Random numbers certified by Bell's theorem, S. Pironio, A. Acin, S. Massar, A. Boyer de la Giroday, D. N. Matsukevich, P. Maunz, S. Olmschenk, D. Hayes, L. Luo, T. A. Manning, C. Monroe (2009) PDF
[57]
Key Agreement and Oblivious Transfer from Free-Energy Limitations, X. Coiteux-Roy, S. Wolf (2022) PDF

F: Interpretations of Quantum Physics

Papers Date and speakers
[58]
“Relative state” formulation of quantum mechanics, H. Everett (1957) PDF
[59]
The emergent multiverse, D. Wallace (2012)
[60]
Can free will emerge from determinism in quantum theory?, G. Brassard, P. Raymond-Robichaud (2012) PDF
22 May: Maximilian Skawran
[61]
A suggested interpretation of the quantum theory in terms of "hidden" variables, D. Bohm (1952) PDF
[62]
A tripartite quantum state violating the hidden influence constraints, T. J. Barnea, J.-D. Bancal, Y.-C. Liang, N. Gisin (2013) PDF
Non-locality is transitive, S. Coretti, E. Hänggi, S. Wolf (2011) PDF
[63]
Copenhagen computation: How I learned to stop worrying and love Bohr, N. D. Mermin (2003) PDF
[64]
On nonlocality as a resource theory and nonlocality measures, J. de Vicente (2014) PDF
[65]
La nouvelle cuisine, J. S. Bell (1990) PDF
[66]
Six possible worlds of quantum mechanics, J. S. Bell (1986) PDF
22 May: Noemi Bolzonetti
[67]
Against 'measurement', J. S. Bell (1989) PDF
[68]
Einstein, incompleteness, and the epistemic view of quantum states, N. Harrigan, R. W. Spekkens (2007) PDF
[69]
On the reality of the quantum state, M. F. Pusey, J. Barrett, T. Rudolph (2012) PDF
Is a system's wave function in one-to-one correspondence with its elements of reality?, R. Colbeck, R. Renner (2012) PDF
[70]
In defense of the epistemic view of quantum states: A toy theory, R. Spekkens (2004) PDF
[71]
Physics Without Physics: The Power of Information-theoretical Principles, G. M. D'Ariano (2017) PDF
[72]
Three measurement problems, T. Maudlin (1995) PDF
22 May: Simone Salzano
[73]
Algorithmic Pseudorandomness in Quantum Setups, A. Bendersky, G. de la Torre, G. Senno, S. Figueira, A. Acín (2016) PDF
[74]
One world versus many: The inadequacy of Everettian accounts of evolution, probability, and scientific confirmation, A. Kent (2009) PDF
[75]
The interpretation of quantum mechanics: Many worlds or many words?, M. Tegmark (1997) PDF
22 May: Riccardo Giacometti
[76]
The fabric of reality, D. Deutsch (1997)
10 April: Suuraj Perpeli
[77]
The cellular automaton interpretation of quantum mechanics, G. 't Hooft (2014) PDF
[78]
The Foundations of Quantum Mechanics in the Philosophy of Nature, G. Hermann (1935) PDF
Die Naturphilosophischen Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik, G. Hermann (1935) PDF
[79]
Indeterminism in quantum physics and classical physics, K. Popper (1950) PDF
[80]
Is quantum theory universally valid?, A. Peres, W.H.Zurek (1983) PDF
29 May: Lili Lu
[81]
The impossibility of accurate self-measurements, T. Breuer (1995) PDF
10 April: Ali Mohammadpourfard
[82]
Minipaper: Probability in wave mechanics, H. Everett (1995) PDF
[83]
Quantum mechanics and reality, B. DeWitt (1970) PDF
29 May: Elvi Mihai
[84]
QBism, the perimeter of quantum Bayesianism, C. Fuchs (2010) PDF
[85]
Towards a proper quantum theory, J. Levy-Leblond (1976) PDF
[86]
Relational quantum mechanics, C. Rovelli (1996) PDF
29 May: Margherita Moro

* hardcopy available on demand.