Related papers: Editor's column (on an article by Jaffe and Quinn)

Theoretical physics is the search for simple and universal mathematical descriptions of the natural world. In contrast, much of modern biology is an exploration of the complexity and diversity of life. For many, this contrast is prima facie…

Quantum computing exposes the brilliance of quantum mechanics through computer science and, as such, gives oneself a marvelous and exhilarating journey to go through. This article leads along that journey with a historical and current…

From the philosopher's perspective, the interest in quantum computation stems primarily from the way that it combines fundamental concepts from two distinct sciences: physics (especially quantum mechanics) and computer science, each long a…

This paper reviews connections between physics and computation, and explores their implications. The main topics are computational "hardness" of physical systems, computational status of fundamental theories, quantum computation, and the…

This paper is an essentially self-contained and rigorous description of the fundamental principles of quantum computing from a mathematical perspective. It is intended to help mathematicians who want to get a grasp of this quickly growing…

Pre-college mathematics modeling instruction often frames mathematics as being separated from reasoning about the real world -- and commonly treats reasoning mathematically and reasoning about the real-world context as separate stages of a…

The role of mathematical models in physics has for longer been well established. The issue of their proper building and use appears to be less clear. Examples in this regard from relativity and quantum mechanics are mentioned. Comments…

The aim of this paper is to introduce a mathematical logic based approach investigating why-type questions in physics.

This brief note, written for non-specialists, aims at drawing an introductive overview of the multiverse issue.

In the recent work [1], authors discussed the relationship between the two of Euler angles assuming that it can be used to describe some effects in the theory of a rigid body. I show that this assumption is not properly justified.

Quantum mechanics is a fundamentally probabilistic theory (at least so far as the empirical predictions are concerned). It follows that, if one wants to properly understand quantum mechanics, it is essential to clearly understand the…

A comment on the preprint "Towards a quantitative kinetic theory of polar active matter" by T. Ihle, arXiv:1401.8056.

A brief philosophical inquiry into the foundations of quantum mechanics is presented here. In particular, the direct relationship between granularity, discontinuity, and the presence of quantum effects will be argued. Furthermore, an…

Remarks on mathematical proof and the practice of mathematics.

This book intends to give the main definitions and theorems in mathematics which could be useful for workers in theoretical physics. It gives an extensive and precise coverage of the subjects which are addressed, in a consistent and…

Various 'optimistic' attempts have been made to reasonably explain the undeniable effectiveness of mathematics in its application to physics. They range over retrospective, historical accounts of mathematical applicability based on…

In this article, I discuss the relationship of mathematics to the physical world, and to other spheres of human knowledge. In particular, I argue that Mathematics is created by human beings, and the number $\pi$ can not be said to have…

We introduce the special issue on the Statistical Mechanics of Climate published on the Journal of Statistical Physics by presenting an informal discussion of some theoretical aspects of climate dynamics that make it a topic of great…

This paper traces the seminal roles that physicists and mathematicians have played in the conceptual development of the biological sciences in the past, and especially in the 19th and 20th centuries.

I argue that John Norton's notions of empirical, hypothetical, and counterfactual possibility can be successfully used to analyze counterintuitive examples of physical possibility and align better with modal intuitions of practicing…