Quantum Reference Frames: A Relational Approach to States, Symmetry, and Covariance

报告摘要：In classical physics, reference frames are modeled by rods and clocks, providing a fixed structure for measuring space and time. In quantum mechanics, however, these measuring devices can themselves be quantum systems, fundamentally altering our understanding of superposition, causal order, and symmetry. This talk will provide an overview of quantum reference frames (QRFs) and their implications for fundamental physics. We will explore how QRFs generalize classical coordinate transformations by treating rods and clocks as quantum objects, leading to new insights into the relativity of quantum superpositions, entanglement, and event localization, as well as their connection to gravity and general covariance. Finally, I will discuss potential experimental realizations and key open challenges in this emerging field.
报告人简介：Časlav Brukner is Professor for “Quantum Foundations and Quantum Information Theory” at the University of Vienna, Austria, and the Scientific Director of the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI-Vienna). He earned a Doctor of Technical Sciences from the Vienna University of Technology (1999). He has held positions at Imperial College London (Marie Curie Fellow, 2004), Tsinghua University in Beijing (Chair Professor, 2005-2008), the University of Belgrade, Serbia (Visiting Professor since 2008), the International Institute of Physics in Natal, Brazil (Distinguished Visiting Full Professorship since 2017), and the Perimeter Institute (Distinguished Visiting Research Chair since 2022). In 2015, he was awarded the Marko Jaric Award “for contributions in the field of quantum foundations,” recognized as the highest professional award in the field of physical sciences granted to researchers of Serbian origin. Since 2021, he is a foreign member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 2023, he received the Paul Ehrenfest Award for the best paper in quantum foundations. His primary research interests are the foundations of quantum physics and quantum information theory, and more recently, their relation to space-time physics.