Physics and Information - What is the role of Information in Physics?

You are cordially invited to attend the PhD Dissertation Defense of Paul Erker on Wednesday February 20th, 2019 at 15:30 in room A-34 (Red building).

Abstract:
More than a century ago, physicists around the world were collectively developing a theory to describe the newly discovered strange behaviours of some physical systems. This marks the birth of quantum theory. Few decades later, the groundbreaking idea to separate information from its physical carrier led to the establishment of information theory. These, initially independent theories, merged together in the last decades of the former century, leaving us with quantum information theory. This thesis will explore topics at the intersection of mathematics, physics and computer science, trying to elucidate the interwovenness of these three disciplines. While doing so, the results that were established during the years of studies leading up to this work are introduced. The question posed in the title will not be answered fully, as it may be too early still to give a definite answer to this multifaceted question.

Dissertation Committee:

• Prof. Stefan Wolf, Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland (Research Advisor)
• Prof. Antonio Carzaniga, Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland (Internal Member)
• Prof. Olaf Schenk, Università della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland (Internal Member)
• Prof. Caslav Brukner, University of Vienna, Austria (External Member)
• Prof. John Calsamiglia, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain (External Member)
• Prof. Marcus Huber, University of Vienna, Austria (External Member)
• Prof. Andreas Winter, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain (External Member)