Related papers: Enrico Fermi and the Old Quantum Physics
We review here the main contributions of Einstein to the quantum theory. To put them in perspective we first give an account of Physics as it was before him. It is followed by a brief account of the problem of black body radiation which…
By popular request we post these old (from 2001) lecture notes of the Varenna Summer School Proceedings. The original was published as J. I. Cirac, L. M. Duan, and P. Zoller, in "Experimental Quantum Computation and Information" Proceedings…
We present a reconstruction of the studies on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (FQM) carried out in Italy at the turn of the 1960s. Actually, they preceded the revival of the interest of the American physicists towards the FQM around…
Lectures given at International School of Physics ``Enrico Fermi'', Varenna, Villa Monastero, June 28-July 7 1994
In order to check finite propagation speed Fermi, in 1932, had considered two atoms A and B separated by some distance R. At time t=0, A is in an excited state, B in its ground state, and no photons are present. Fermi's idea was to…
This entry reviews Rudolf Carnap's philosophical views on the quantum mechanics of his time. It also offers some thoughts on how Carnap might have reacted to some recent developments in the foundations of quantum mechanics.
We retrace the first steps towards understanding neutrinos, particles predicted by Pauli in 1930 to avoid a supposed violation of time-translation symmetry. Despite the tendency to reduce the whole story to his intuition and the skill of…
I contrast two possible attitudes towards a given branch of physics: as inferential (i.e., as concerned with an agent's ability to make predictions given finite information), and as dynamical (i.e., as concerned with the dynamical equations…
Since its inception, quantum theory has been the subject of fierce interpretive controversy, which persists to this day. Disputed topics include the basic ontology and dynamics of the theory, the role (if any) of measurement, the meaning of…
Recent developments in the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics have brought the theory closer to that of classical probability and statistics. On the other hand, the unique character of quantum physics sets many of the questions…
In these notes I review the basic concepts of the effects of interactions on quantum particles. I focuss here mostly on the case of fermions, but several aspects of interacting bosons are mentioned as well. These notes have been voluntarily…
The purpose of this study, mainly historical and pedagogical, is to investigate the physical-mathematical similitudes of the spectroscopic and beta decay Fermi theories. Both theories were formulated using quantum perturbative theory that…
A novel recovery of some important documents related to the Fermi course on neutron physics, held at Los Alamos in 1945, is announced. Its relevance for the effective launch of a British nuclear programme in the early postwar period,…
Ettore Majorana proposed an important improvement to the Thomas-Fermi statistical model for atoms, with a communication at the general meeting of the Italian Physical Society, held in Rome, on December 29th, 1928, regularly published on…
In this work we revisit the famous Fermi two-atom problem, which concerns how relativistic causality impacts atomic transition probabilities, using the tools from relativistic quantum information (RQI) and algebraic quantum field theory…
The long history of the study of quantum gravity has thrown up a complex web of ideas and approaches. The aim of this article is to unravel this web a little by analysing some of the {\em prima facie\/} questions that can be asked of almost…
An english translation of the original work of Enrico Fermi on the quantization of the monoatomic ideal gas, is given in this paper. Fermi introduced here for the first time the statistical law obeyed by most of the particles in nature:…
This paper explores the historical development of the theory of quantum mechanics between 1900 and 1927 by chronological examination of the foundational papers and ideas. Beginning with Planck's introduction of energy quantisation in…
I describe aspects of my life in physics: the name I publish under, great physicists I have known, how I got into quantum foundations, what role I've played in it. My form is autobiographical, but my personal experience may illustrate what…
Einstein's special theory of relativity starts with assumptions about how observations conducted in relatively moving inertial frames must compare. From these assumptions, conclusions can be drawn regarding the laws of physics in any one…