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PIRSA:24030118

Tiny universes from ensembles of open quantum systems

APA

Shandera, S. (2024). Tiny universes from ensembles of open quantum systems. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/24030118

Sarah Shandera

Pennsylvania State University

Talk number
PIRSA:24030118
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Abstract

Gravity creates space-time boundaries that limit observables without limiting the flow of energy and information. This means that quantum systems in cosmology are often open systems: to describe them we must include the effects of interaction with an unobservable environment. In many cosmological settings, different observers see different parts of the spacetime; the ensemble of the open systems for each observer makes up the full cosmology. In this talk I will introduce a class of out-of-equilibrium quantum systems constructed to mimic some key features of cosmology and demonstrate the utility of treating the full system as an ensemble of open systems. I will use these models to illustrate the possible connections between cosmological open quantum systems and thermodynamics, as well as open-systems-inspired ways to think about locality.

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