Embedded Files
Cambridge Elements: The Philosophy of Dualities
Joint work with Sebstian De Haro
Cambridge University Press (Under Contract)
For more than half a century, dualities have been at the heart of modern physics. From quantum mechanics to statistical mechanics, electrodynamics, condensed matter physics, quantum field theory and quantum gravity, dualities have proven useful in solving problems that are otherwise quite intractable. Being surprising and unexpected, dualities have been taken to raise philosophical questions about the nature and formulation of scientific theories, scientific realism, emergence, symmetries, explanation, understanding and theory construction. This book discusses what dualities are, gives a selection of examples, explores the themes and roles that make dualities interesting, and highlights their most salient types. It aims to be an entry point into discussions of dualities in both physics and philosophy. The philosophical discussion emphasises three main topics: whether duals are theoretically equivalent, the view of scientific theories that is suggested by dualities (namely, a geometric view of theories) and the compatibility between duality and emergence.
Breaking the Fabric: on AdS/CFT, Humeanism, and the Fate of Spacetime Inside Black Holes
PhD Thesis (2023)
Supervisors: Christian Wüthrich (University of Geneva) & Vincenzo Fano (University of Urbino)
Department of Philosophy, University of Geneva & DiSPeA, University of Urbino
This thesis discusses the philosophy behind models of quantum black holes in AdS/CFT. These models display a variety of foundationally and metaphysically interesting features, ranging from modifications to the semiclassical structure of spacetime, to wide-ranging impacts on the metaphysics of laws of nature and the nature of spacetime emergence in Quantum Gravity.
In particular, on the philosophy of physics side in this thesis I discuss the relation between AdS/CFT constructions introducing certain non-local connections within the spacetime structure of General Relativity and the topic of causality conditions on evaporating black holes in General Relativity. For this case, I suggest that various theorems apparently contradicting these AdS/CFT models of black holes do not apply due to subtle modifications of the standard spacetime structure of General Relativity.
On the metaphysics side, I use first of all these AdS/CFT models of quantum black hole to illustrate how Humeanism can be articulated in Quantum Gravity, suggesting in particular that spacetime relations should be substituted with amplitude relations to do so. I also argue that in AdS/CFT, black holes make standard approaches to spacetime emergence untenable. Indeed, my contention is that spacetime emergence does not make sense in these cases, and that spacetime itself does not exist. Rather, all we have at our disposal is the operational data associated to spacetime, and I argue that this is sufficient to avoid issues having to do with the disappearance of spacetime in Quantum Gravity. Finally, I argue that, given this understanding of how classical spacetime is represented in AdS/CFT, we should prefer a Humean metaphysics in regard to laws of nature, at least insofar as treating General Relativity as a scientific theory involving laws of nature is a desideratum.
I Paradossi dei Buchi Neri, Una Spiegazione Elementare per Comprendere l'Universo (in italian, english title: Black Hole Paradoxes: an Elementary Explanation to Understand the Universe)
Joint work with Marco Sanchioni
Carocci Editore (2022)
ISBN: 9788829012473
Negli ultimi anni, buona parte delle ricerche di fisica teorica e di fisica sperimentale si è concentrata sui buchi neri; ne sono un esempio la cosiddetta fotografia di quello che si trova nel cuore della galassia Messier 87 o la rilevazione delle onde gravitazionali causate dalla fusione di due di essi. Ciò porta a riproporre alcune domande fondamentali: qual è la loro natura? E, di conseguenza, come conciliare meccanica quantistica e relatività generale? Le risposte portano a sorprendenti conclusioni, che vanno al di là della fisica stessa e toccano importanti questioni filosofiche e concettuali riguardanti la natura della realtà che ci circonda. Il volume introduce ai paradossi dei buchi neri, con particolare attenzione al cosiddetto paradosso dei firewall, e ne studia la soluzione. L’inaspettata conclusione è che i buchi neri violano il principio di località caro ad Einstein: il loro interno e il loro esterno non sono sistemi distinti.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse