The Quantum World

Course goals

By the end of this course students should be able to express, compare and contrast the various positions in the debates in the foundations of quantum mechanics, critically assess papers on these subjects, and present their own well-argued views both in oral presentations and in writing.

Content

This course explores the central conceptual issues raised by quantum theory, in particular the classic topics of (non)locality and of measurement, and introduces the main approaches to understanding the theory (hidden variables, spontaneous collapse and many-worlds). Elements of the formalism will be reviewed, including some topics that tend to fall by the wayside in standard textbooks (measurement theory, decoherence). No specific background is required, however. If time allows, some aspects of historical interest will be covered (e.g. Bohr's views), as well as some recent developments