Initiative for Philosophy and Foundations of Physics and Chemistry
Grupo de Filosofía de la Ciencias
FFyL - FCEyN - UBA
CastellanoResearch Group of the Project
Irreversible phenomena in quantum mechanics from a holistic perspective
The working group is composed of an interdisciplinary team
dedicated to the study of ontology in physics and chemistry, and to the
intertheoretical relationships between the theories of these disciplines.
Project Summary:
The present project is situated within the framework of the philosophy of physics, and its general aim is to analyze certain central philosophical problems of theoretical physics and to offer some tentative solutions on the basis of that analysis. In particular, the work is organized around the problem of irreversibility in quantum mechanics, whose general formulation can be expressed in the following terms: How is it possible to explain irreversible macroscopic evolutions in terms of the underlying reversible microscopic evolutions? Accordingly, the overall objective of the project is to provide a scientifically and philosophically adequate answer to this question within the domain of quantum mechanics, as well as to reflect on the relation between irreversibility and other problems of the theory, such as the measurement problem and non-locality. On the basis of a clear distinction between the concepts and problems of irreversibility, the arrow of time, and an adequate interpretation of quantum mechanics, the project seeks to achieve its general objective by offering a response that is compatible with the solutions to other problems analyzed in previous work.
Team members
Dr. Sebastian Fortin: Bachelor’s and PhD in Physical Sciences, PhD in History and Philosophy of Science. Independent Researcher at CONICET. He contributes to the research with his expertise in the philosophy of physics and chemistry, and coordinates the work across all three modules. In particular, he is the co-author, together with Olimpia Lombardi and Mario Castagnino, of the General Framework for Decoherence and has formulated the initial steps toward reconciling this framework with the Modal-Hamiltonian Interpretation.
Dr. Manuel Gadella: Spanish theoretical physicist and mathematician, professor at the University of Valladolid, recognized for his contributions to the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, particularly in rigged Hilbert spaces and time-asymmetric quantum theory. He has published extensively on the foundations of quantum mechanics, decoherence, and unstable quantum systems, and has held visiting researcher positions at international institutions. His work connects mathematical physics with conceptual issues in quantum theory.
Dr. Cesar Massri: Bachelor’s and PhD in Mathematics. Associate Researcher at CONICET. He contributes to the research with the mathematical expertise necessary for the formalization of ideas on irreversibility and the interpretation of probability in modal terms. He has published work on the algebraic approach to quantum probabilities, the study of quantum entanglement, and issues of contextuality.
Matías Pasqualini, Licentiate in Philosophy from the National University of Rosario (UNR) and Bachelor in Theology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina (PUCA), earned his PhD in Philosophy at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and a Master’s in Teacher Training from CEU San Pablo University, Madrid. He is currently a doctoral fellow of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) at the “Dr. Adolfo Prieto” Research Institute (UNR). His research focuses on the philosophy of physics and the metaphysics of science, with particular emphasis on the interpretation of quantum mechanics, the ontology of entanglement, and structuralism.
Lic. Ignacio Rojas: Bachelor’s in Philosophy, currently pursuing his PhD in Philosophy under the supervision of Sebastian Fortin and co-supervision of Olimpia Lombardi. His doctoral research focuses on the study of quantum ontology from an ontic structural realist perspective and the Modal-Hamiltonian Interpretation.
Initiative for Philosophy and Foundations of Physics and Chemistry, Argentina