EmerQuM 11: Emergent Quantum Mechanics 2011 (Heinz von Foerster Congress)
Gerhard Grössing
These proceedings comprise the plenary lectures and poster contributions of the 'Heinz von Foerster Conference 2011' on Emergent Quantum Mechanics (EmerQuM11), which was held at the University of Vienna, 11?13 November 2011. With the 5th International Heinz von Foerster Conference convened at the occasion of von Foerster's 100th birthday, the organizers opted for a twin conference to take place at the Large and Small Ceremonial Halls of the University's main building, respectively. The overall topic was chosen as 'Self-Organization and Emergence', a topic to which von Foerster was an early contributor. While the first conference ('Self-Organization and Emergence in Nature and Society') addressed a more general audience, the second one ('Emergent Quantum Mechanics') was intended as a specialist meeting with a contemporary topic that could both serve as an illustration of von Foerster's intellectual heritage and, more generally, point towards future directions in physics. We thus intended to bring together many of those physicists who are interested in or are working on attempts to understand quantum mechanics as emerging from a suitable classical (or, more generally, deeper level) physics. EmerQuM11 was organized by the Austrian Institute for Nonlinear Studies (AINS), with essential support from the Wiener Institute for Social Science Documentation and Methodology (WISDOM), the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna, and the Heinz von Foerster-Gesellschaft. There were a number of individuals who contributed to the smooth course of our meeting and whom I would like to sincerely thank: Christian Bischof, Thomas Elze, Marianne Ertl, Gertrud Hafner, Werner Korn, Angelika Krawanja, Florian Krug and his team, Sonja Lang, Albert M?ller, Ilse M?ller, Irene M?ller, Karl M?ller, Armin Reautschnig, Marion Schirrmacher, Anton Staudinger, Roman Zlabinger, and, last but not least, my AINS colleagues Siegfried Fussy, Herbert Schwabl and Johannes Mesa Pascasio, the latter in particular for his invaluable technical help with these proceedings. Funds made available by the Federal Ministry of Science and Research (BMWF), the City of Vienna MA7 Science Funding, the Faculty of Historical and Cultural Studies, Blaha Office Furniture, and Padma AG Zurich are gratefully acknowledged. As for the nature of the search for a 'deeper level' foundation of quantum mechanics, a first difficulty already arises with respect to the question: Where do we start? One may look for quite different points of departure, such as an encompassing theory of quantum gravity. Or one may find arguments for the necessity to base one's approach at least on a relativistic formulation of the problem. Or one may discard searching for general principles for the time being, and develop an explicit physical model first. And so on. In fact, this is actually what is happening today in different research programs for emergent quantum mechanics, a fact which is also reflected in the rich variety of approaches presented at our meeting. This may be considered a very welcome situation, reminding us of Heinz von Foerster's dictum: 'Act always so as to increase the number of choices.' However, some may view this variety also as a drawback: There is not (yet?) a single, definite alternative theory that would challenge orthodox positions, for example, by providing different experimental predictions. However, the prevailing orthodoxy has shown throughout the 20th century to the present day, that a too restrictive attitude towards theoretical alternatives can lead to almost a standstill in coping with the serious shortcomings and contradictions of present-day physics. Many of us remember famous quantum physicists repeating in an almost mantra-like fashion that quantum theory, or experimental evidence, 'excludes hidden variables as a possibility', along with a reference to some or other newly found 'impossibility proof'. Yet we also recall John Bell's famous counter-statement: 'What is proved by impossibility proofs is lack of imagination.' In this sense, therefore, our task is to make use of the variety of the different approaches offered, for it is in scrutinizing each of them that a chance for further progress and understanding may emerge. The papers collected in these proceedings essentially follow the order of the plenary talks during the conference program, with the addition of the poster presentations. Prior to the contributions to EmerQuM11, the very first paper of these proceedings presents the opening lecture by Yves Couder who addressed both twin conferences with his talk on wave-particle duality in a classical system. (Although he was not able to participate personally, the contribution of Robert Carroll, a member of the academic advisory board, is included here. Regrettably, the lectures by John Bush, Marek Czachor, Mark Everitt, Felix Finster, and Lee Smolin could not be included, partly for copyright reasons.) Finally, I would like to thank Sarah Toms and Graham Douglas and their team at IOP Publishing (Bristol) for their friendly advice and help during the preparation of these proceedings. Vienna, April 2012 Gerhard Gr?ssing
Journal of Physics Conference Series•May 10, 2012•5 citations