TSVP Talk: "Indistinguishability and Statistics of Quantum Particles" by Masaki Oshikawa

Title: Indistinguishability and Statistics of Quantum Particles

Speaker: Masaki Oshikawa, ISSP, The University of Tokyo
 
Abstract: The microscopic world is governed by quantum mechanics, which has many counter-intuitive properties. Matter consists of microscopic particles such as electrons, which are often illustrated as small balls or grains of sand. However, in quantum mechanics, identical particles cannot be distinguished even in principle, in stark contrast to classical particles such as grains of sand. This "quantum statistics" has remarkable consequences which are observed experimentally. But why can Indistinguishable particles even exist? Modern physics has a certain answer to this philosophical question.
I will also discuss exotic types of quantum statistics of identical particles vigorously studied recently, with a possible application to quantum computing.

Profile: Masaki Oshikawa is a theorist whose research spans condensed matter physics, statistical physics, and field theory. After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1995, he became a Killam Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia. He then served as Associate Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology from 1998 until 2006, when he became a Professor at the Institute for Solid State Physics, University of Tokyo. His scientific contributions have been recognized with several awards and honors, including the Ryogo Kubo Memorial Prize, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Prize, and Fellowship of the American Physical Society. Frequently invited to international conferences and workshops, he is known for traveling with his iconic blue folding bicycle, which has accompanied him to 25 countries so far.

Language: English

Target audience: General audience/everyone at OIST and beyond.
Freely accessible to all OIST members and guests without registration.

We encourage everyone on campus to participate in person, for those who cannot the lecture will also be broadcast on zoom:
Join zoom
Meeting ID: 951 6246 7389
Passcode: 331284

This general-audience talk is part of the Thematic Program on "Generalized Symmetries in Quantum Matter" which is being held at OIST from May 12 until July 4. The program will focus on the role of novel symmetries in a wide range of systems, from quantum magnetism to gauge theories to open quantum systems. 

For more information, please see the program website here. Anyone interested in participating in the Thematic Program activities can stay up-to-date by signing up here for a mailing list or by joining the program's Slack here.

※ Please note that this event may be recorded and the videos uploaded. In addition, photos may be taken during the event. These are intended for publication online (the OIST website, social media, etc.)※