Fourth International Workshop DICE2008
              Castello Pasquini/Castiglioncello (Tuscany), September 22-26, 2008
From Quantum Mechanics through Complexity to Spacetime: 
the role of emergent dynamical structures
  Click here for ...
Objectives
Advisory Board
Organizers
Invited Lectures
Contrib. Papers
Program
Proceedings
Registration
Conference Site
Travel/
Accommodation
Sponsors

     Updated: 30/10/08


Advisory Board
 
S. Adler (IAS, Princeton) J. Barbour (Oxford)
G. Casati (Como) G.C. Ghirardi (Trieste)
C. Grebogi (Edinburgh) S. Haroche (Paris)
J. Hartle (Santa Barbara) B.-L. Hu (Maryland)
C. Isham (London) C. Kiefer (Köln)
N. Mavromatos (London) C. Rovelli (Marseille)
C. Tsallis (Rio de Janeiro) G. Veneziano (CERN, Genève)
C. Wetterich (Heidelberg) W. Zurek (Los Alamos)

 Founding and Supporting Members

T. Arecchi (Firenze)                         O. Bertolami (Lisboa)
I. Bialynicki-Birula (Warsaw) L. Davidovich (Rio de Janeiro)                  
J. Rafelski (Arizona) D. Stein (New York)
M. Tegmark (MIT, Cambridge)

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Organizers
 
   Lajos Diosi (Budapest)
    
   Hans-Thomas Elze (Pisa, chair)
 
   
   Leone Fronzoni (Pisa)		  

   Jonathan Halliwell (London)

   Giuseppe Vitiello (Salerno)        
        Conference secretaries:
          Luca Baldini (Pisa)  
   Melissa Pesce-Rollins (Siena)

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Objectives

Following DICE2002, DICE2004, and DICE2006, this interdisciplinary workshop addresses researchers in the fields of fundamental interactions, cosmology, general relativity, and quantum theory:
-
The pillars of modern physics, quantum mechanics and general relativity, coexist very successfully, having in their respective domains impressive observational support. However, black hole entropy puzzle, missing unification of all known forces, and  conceptual problems in applying quantum theory to the universe are stumbling blocks on the way to a deeper understanding.
-
Attempts to quantize gravity continue to stimulate studies of classical and quantum dynamics and of the statistical properties of "timeless" reparametrization-invariant systems. A central problem remains to determine the observables that are consistent with the constraints. "The difficulties with quantum gravity" have also led to radically new proposals considering spacetime and/or gravity as emergent phenomena, much like hydrodynamics is seen to arise from atomic physics. Even quantum mechanics may reflect a deterministic dynamics beneath, when suitably coarse-grained to the scales where it is observed to work so well.
-
Classical behavior in complex quantum systems, attributed to decoherence, has recently been studied in macroscopic and mesoscopic systems, the motivation being largely the quest for quantum information processing. However, relevant decohering degrees of freedom in microscopic and general relativistic systems are much less understood. - The related measurement problem and, with it, wave function collapse or objective reduction continue to present unresolved issues. 
-
The study of these topics may include an analysis of the kind of information that exists in such systems with many degrees of freedom and typically long-range interactions and of the basic conditions under which it can be extracted. Corresponding measures of complexity have been elaborated and should play a role here.
-
DICE2008 will focus on these major topics:
  • Decoherence and the quantum-to-classical transition
  • Objective reduction and/or wave function collapse  
  • Quantum gravity / cosmology and problem(s) of time  
  • Emergent quantum mechanics, symmetries, and spacetime  

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Invited Lectures   

A. Albrecht (Univ. of California, Davis)
__ The clock ambiguity and its implications
F.T. Arecchi (INOA and Univ. di Firenze)
__ Coherence, complexity and creativity: the dynamics of decision making 
E. Arimondo (Univ. di Pisa)
__ Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices 
L. Bombelli (Univ. of Mississippi)
__ The action for gravity and matter fields in
     causal set theory
L. Diosi (Res. Inst. Part. & Nucl. Phys., Budapest)  
__ Does wave function collapse cause gravity?
F. Dowker (Imperial College, London)
__ The Kochen-Specker theorem in quantum measure theory 
H.-T. Elze (Univ. di Pisa)
__ Does quantum mechanics tell an atomistic spacetime? 
W.J. Freeman (Univ. of California, Berkeley)
__ Dissipative thermodynamics modeling the formation in cortex of patterns
     stabilized by vortices
R. Gambini (Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge)
__ Relational time in totally constrained systems: fundamental decoherence and 
     some conceptual applications
M. Genovese (INRIM, Torino) 
__ Recent experimental tests of specific local realistic models 
G.C. Ghirardi (ICTP and Univ. degli Studi di Trieste) 
__ The conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics: where do we stand? 
N. Gisin (Univ. Genève)
__ Towards understanding quantum correlations
J.J. Halliwell (Imperial College, London)
__ Emergent classicality via commuting position and momentum operators  
J. Henson (Perimeter Institute, Waterloo)
__ A histories perspective on emergent spacetime 
B.-L. Hu (Univ. of Maryland)  
__ The untold story of quantum nonlocality: EPR scrutinized
     by quantum field theory
C. Kiefer (Univ. Kőln)
__ Concept of time in quantum gravity and string theory 
H. Kleinert (Freie Univ. Berlin)
__ Third quantization
N. Mavromatos (King's College, London)
__ Flavour vacua, space-time foam and cosmology 
R. Penrose (Univ. of Oxford)
__ Black holes, quantum theory and cosmology   
J. Pullin (Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge)
 __ (see R. Gambini's lecture) 
D. Rideout (Perimeter Institute, Waterloo)
 __ Emergence of spacetime structure from a discrete causal order  
W. Schleich (Univ. Ulm)
 __ Decoherence of quantum carpets
L.S. Schulman (Clarkson Univ.)
 __ Source of the observed thermodynamic arrow 
R.D. Sorkin (Perimeter Institute & Univ. of Syracuse)
__  Direct transmission of light along causal links
L. Vaidman (Tel Aviv Univ.)
__ Where is and where is not a pre- and post-selected quantum particle
G.E. Volovik (Helsinki Univ. of Technology)
__ Principles of emergent physics and application to
     problems of dark energy  
G. Vitiello (Univ. di Salerno)
__ Phase transitions, vortices and null spikes in the dissipative quantum model
     of the brain: predictions and experimental observations
C. Wetterich (Univ. Heidelberg)
__ Quantum theory from classical statistics with probabilistic observables  

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Contributed Papers

P:  poster presentation  /  95cm wide x 105cm high (maximal dimensions)
C:  short oral communication  /  10min (strict rules as sent to authors ! )
T:  talk  /  20min including discussion

(presentations were selected by the organizers based on the abstracts submitted)
 
C. Bastos (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa)
__ Noncommutative quantum cosmology  C
D.J. Bedingham (Imperial College, London)
__ State reduction dynamics in a simplified QED model  T     
C. Beny (Univ. of Waterloo)
__ Unsharp pointer observables and the emergence of phase-space  C 
O. Bertolami (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa)
__ Coupling dark energy with standard model states  T  
M. Blasone (Univ. di Salerno)
__ Multipartite entangled states in particle mixing  T  
M. Cadoni (Univ. di Cagliari)
__ Emergent gravity and entanglement entropy of black holes  T 
A. Capolupo (Univ. di Salerno)
__ Dark energy, dark matter and particle mixing  P
F. Caravelli (Univ. di Pisa)
__
R. Casadio (Univ. di Bologna)
__ Gravitational renormalization of quantum field theory  C 
C. Chryssomalakos (Inst. de Ciencias Nucleares, UNAM, Mexico City)
__ Wires and Berry: geometric phases in deformable extended objects   T   
H.H. Coronado (Inst. de Ciencias Nucleares, UNAM, Mexico City)
__ Center of mass in special and general relativity, and
     its role in an effective description of spacetime  C
F. Costa (Austrian Acad. of Sciences, Vienna)
__ Detector models in quantum field theory  C  
F. Dell'Anno (Univ. di Salerno)
__ Hierarchies of geometric entanglement  T 
E. Di Nardo (Univ. di Pisa)
__
O. Dreyer (MIT, Cambridge)
__ Early universe cosmology in internal relativity  T 
V. Eletti (La Sapienza, Univ. di Roma)
__ 
D. Ellis (Imperial College, London)
__ Hamiltonian statistical mechanics  C 
R. Erdem (Izmir Inst. of Technology)
__ Towards solution of cosmological constant and zero point energy
      problems through metric reversal symmetry  T
R. Garattini (Univ. degli Studi di Bergamo)
__ Cosmological constant as eigenvalue of a Sturm-Liouville problem
     in modified gravity theories  C 
G. Gervino (Univ. di Torino)
__ Deformed quantum mechanics in noncommutative
     q-differential calculus  P  
A. Gilra (Tata Inst. of Fundam. Res., Mumbai)
__ Quantum phases in electrodynamics and gravity:
     spin-statistics connection and cosmic gravity  C 
F. Girelli (SISSA, Trieste)
__ On the emergence of time and gravity  T
K.S. Gupta (Saha Inst. of Nucl. Physics, Calcutta)
__ Noncommutativity and quantum structure of space-time:
     an emergent paradigm  T
A. Gustavsson (Imperial College, London)
__ Constrained quantum dynamics  C 
I.S. Helland (Univ. of Oslo)
__ Quantum mechanics from focusing and symmetry  T 
A. Iorio (Charles Univ., Prague)
__ On Schrödinger's quest for new physics for life  T 
S. Johnston (Imperial College, London)
__ Path integrals on causal sets  T 
I. Kanatchikov (Weierstrass Institute, Berlin)
__ Quantum gravity and emergent space-time from De Donder-Weyl quantization  T
A. Khrennikov (Univ. of Vaxjo)    
__ Beyond QM? Subquantum classical statistical field theory  T 
T. Konopka (Spinoza Institute and Univ. of Utrecht)
__ Matter in toy geometries  C
G. Korotkikh (Central Queensland Univ.)
__
V. Korotkikh (Central Queensland Univ. )
__ Arithmetic for the unification of quantum mechanics
     and general relativity  C  
A. Kurcz (Leeds Univ.)
__ Inside nature's smallest blackbody  P
F. Lombardo (Univ. de Buenos Aires)
__ Quantum dissipative effects in moving mirrors:
     particle creation and decoherence  T 
O. Lychkovskiy (ITEP, Moscow)
__ Purity sieve for models with factorizable interactions  C  
F. Markopoulou (Perimeter Institute, Waterloo)
__ Quantum graphity: a model of emergent locality  T 
A. Matzkin (Univ. J. Fourier, Grenoble)
__ Bohmian mechanics, the quantum-classical correspondence and
     the  classical limit  T  
E. Minguzzi (Univ. degli Studi di Firenze)
__ On the existence of time in non-singular spacetimes  C 
S. Nagao (NBI, Tokyo)
__ Natures of a tracing dimension, imaginary order of freedom and
     observed time passing at constant speed  P  
D. Oriti (Spinoza Institute and Univ. of Utrecht)
__ On the emergence of spacetime and matter in group field theory  T
S. Paduroiu (Geneva Observatory)
__ 
T.N. Papp (Eötvös Univ., Budapest)
__ Numeric study of the frictional Schrödinger-Newton equation  P 
R.R. Parwani (Nat. Univ. of Singapore)
__ Properties of some information-theoretic 
     nonlinear Schrödinger equations  C  
F. Payandeh (Amirkabir Univ. of Technology, Tehran)
__ Krein space quantization of linear gravity in de Sitter spacetime  C 
D. Pfenniger (Geneva Observatory and Univ. of Geneva)
__ The decoherence scale of cosmological neutrinos and
     other semi-degenerate particles  C 
L. Philpott (Imperial College, London)
__ Massless particle diffusion in causal set theory  C    
F. Piazza (Perimeter Institute, Waterloo)
__ Regions of space as subsystems:  entropy and semiclassical gravity  T 
D. Pietreanu (INFN - Lab. Naz. di Frascati, Roma)
__ Update on the VIP experiment  
E. Prati (Lab. Nazionale MDM, Agrate Brianza)
__ Virtual states and decoherence in a single impurity atom
     solid state quantum device  C 
M. Reginatto (Physikalisch-Techn. Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig)
__ Quantum-classical interactions and measurement: a consistent description
     using statistical ensembles on configuration space  C
J. Sarfatti (Internet Sci. Educ. Project - ISEP, San Francisco)
__ Einstein's gravity as an emergent macro-
     quantum coherent vacuum field  C  
N. Sasakura (Yukawa Inst. Theoret. Physics, Kyoto)
__ Emergent general relativity in fuzzy spaces from tensor models  C 
F. Scardigli (Yukawa Inst. Theoret. Physics, Kyoto)
__ 't Hooft quantization proposal for interacting systems  C 
D. Schuch (J.W. Goethe-Univ., Frankfurt a.M.)
__ Complex nonlinear relations in classical and quantum physics  C  
A.C. Shirazi (Azad Univ., Tehran)
__ Two-point function of massless spin-2 field in de Sitter universe  C 
L. Silvestrini (Univ. di Pisa)
__ Event-driven power-laws relaxations in weak turbulence:
     a liquid crystals mesoscopic experiment bridging quantum dots
     and the integration theory for the brain   P
T.P. Singh (Tata Inst. of Fundam. Res., Mumbai)
__ Quantum measurement and quantum gravity:
     many worlds or collapse of the wave function?  T
D. Song (Korea Inst. for Advanced Study, Seoul)
__ Immeasurability of zero-point energy in
     the cosmological constant problem  T
B. Spagnolo (Univ. di Palermo)
__ Noise stabilization effects in models of interdisciplinary physics  T  
H. Steinacker (Univ. Wien)
__ Emergent 4D gravity from matrix models  T  
M. Stephens (IOP Publishing, Bristol)
__
D. Sudarsky (Inst. de Ciencias Nucleares, UNAM, Mexico City)
__ New handles on the physics behind the quantum origin of
     the seeds of cosmic structure  T
A. Surace (Vimercate, MI)
__ 
S. Surya (Raman Res. Inst., Bangalore)
__ A result in 2D causal set theory  T 
D. Terno (Macquarie Univ., Sydney)
__ Quantum tetrahedron and its classical limit  T
K. Toyoshima (Univ. of Saga)
__ Possibility of realizing Bussey's thought experiment on
     collapse of the wave function at the microscopic level  C
P. Wallden (Raman Res. Inst., Bangalore)
__ The emergence of probabilities in anhomomorphic logic  T 
J. Yearsley (Imperial College, London)
__ The propagator for the step potential and the delta function potential
     using the path decomposition expansion  P  
P. Zenczykowski (Polish Acad. of Sciences, Krakow)
__ Symmetries of nonrelativistic phase space and
     the structure of quark-lepton generation  T
H. Ziaeepour (Univ. College, London)
__ And what if gravity is intrinsic quantic?  C 

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Program 

SUNDAY, September 21st
Arrival at Castiglioncello
15:00 - 20:00     Registration at Castello Pasquini (conference site)
18:00 - 19:30     Informal reception with refreshments at Castello Pasquini

MONDAY, September 22nd
 Quantum Physics & Some Important Questions it Raises 
8:45 - 9:10
  -- OPENING of WORKSHOP --    

Chair: B.-L. Hu
9:10 - 9:50
 R. Penrose,  Black holes, quantum theory and cosmology
  9:50 - 10:20 L. Diosi,  Does wave function collapse cause gravity?
10:20 - 11:10
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: C. Kiefer
11:10 - 11:40
 R. Gambini,  Relational time in totally constrained systems: fundamental decoherence and some conceptual applications
11:40 - 12:00
 K.S. Gupta,  Noncommutativity and quantum structure of  space-time: an emergent paradigm
12:00 - 12:20
 T.P. Singh,  Quantum measurement and quantum gravity: many worlds or collapse of the wave function?
12:20 - 12:50
 L. Vaidman,  Where is and where is not a pre- and post-selected quantum particle
13:00 - 15:00
  -- Lunch at Ristorante Il Peschereccio --

Chair: L.S. Schulman
15:30 - 16:00
 J.J. Halliwell,  Emergent classicality via commuting position and momentum operators
16:00 - 16:30
 W. Schleich,  Decoherence of quantum carpets
16:30 - 16:50
 F. Lombardo,  Quantum dissipative effects in moving mirrors: particle creation and decoherence
16:50 - 17:40
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: F. Markopoulou  
17:40 - 17:50
 C. Beny,  Unsharp pointer observables and the emergence of phase-space
17:50 - 18:10
 A. Gustavsson,  Constrained quantum dynamics
18:10 - 18:20
 H.H. Coronado,  Center of mass in special and general relativity and its role in an effective description of spacetime
18:20 - 18:30
 H. Ziaeepour,  And what if gravity is intrinsically quantic?
18:30 - 18:40
 K. Toyoshima,  Possibility of realizing Bussey's thought experiment on wave function collapse at the microscopic level 
18:40 - 18:50
 E. Prati,  Virtual states and decoherence in a single impurity atom solid state quantum device 
18:50 - 19:00
 O. Lychkovskiy,  Purity sieve for models with factorizable interactions

TUESDAY, September 23rd
 Emergent Dynamics, from Quantum to Brain and Beyond

Chair: D. Sudarsky
9:00 - 9:30 A. Albrecht,  The clock ambiguity and its implications
9:30 - 10:00
 G.E. Volovik,  Principles of emergent physics and application to problems of dark energy
10:00 - 10:20
 F. Girelli,  On the emergence of time and gravity
10:20 - 11:10  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: G.C. Ghirardi  
11:10 - 11:40
 C. Wetterich,  Quantum theory from classical statistics with probabilistic observables 
11:40 - 12:00
 I.S. Helland,  Quantum mechanics from focusing and symmetry
12:00 - 12:30
 H.-T. Elze,  Does quantum mechanics tell an atomistic spacetime?
12:30 - 12:50
 P. Zenczykowski,  Symmetries of nonrelativistic phase space and the structure of quark-lepton generation
13:00 - 15:00  -- Lunch at Ristorante Il Peschereccio --

Chair: G. Vitiello
15:00 - 15:10
 F. Scardigli,  't Hooft quantization proposal for interacting systems
15:10 - 15:30
 A. Khrennikov,  Beyond QM? Subquantum classical statistical field theory
15:30 - 15:50
 A. Iorio,   On Schrödinger's quest for new physics for life
15:50 - 16:10
 B. Spagnolo,  Noise stabilization effects in models of interdisciplinary physics
16:10 - 16:40
 F.T. Arecchi,  Coherence, complexity and creativity: the dynamics of decision making
16:40 - 17:30
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: W. Schleich
17:30 - 18:00
 W.J. Freeman,  Dissipative thermodynamics modeling the formation in cortex of patterns stabilized by vortices
18:00 - 18:30
 G. Vitiello,  Phase transitions, vortices and null spikes in the dissipative quantum model of the brain: predictions and experimental observations
18:30 - 19:00
 H. Kleinert,  Third quantization 
  
WEDNESDAY, September 24th
 Exploring Quantum Mechanics

Chair: L. Vaidman
9:00 - 9:30
 G.C. Ghirardi,  The conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics: where do we stand?
9:30 - 10:00 N. Gisin,  Towards understanding quantum correlations
10:00 - 10:20 M. Reginatto,  Quantum-classical interactions and measurement: a consistent description using statistical ensembles on configuration space 
10:20 - 11:10
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: L. Diosi
11:10 - 11:40
 M. Genovese,  Recent experimental test of specific local realistic models
11:40 -12:10
 B.-L. Hu,  The untold story of quantum nonlocality: EPR scrutinized by quantum field theory
12:10 - 12:30
 A. Matzkin,  Bohmian mechanics, the quantum-classical correspondence and the classical limit
12:30 - 12:50
 D.J. Bedingham,  State reduction dynamics in a simplified QED model
13:00 - 15:00  -- Lunch at Ristorante Il Peschereccio --

Chair: N. Mavromatos
15:30 - 16:00
 E. Arimondo,  Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices
16:00 - 16:20
 C. Chryssomalakos,  Wires and Berry: geometric phases in deformable extended objects
16:20 - 16:30
 A. Gilra,  Quantum phases in electrodynamics and gravity: spin-statistics connection and cosmic gravity
16:30 - 16:40
 D. Ellis,  Hamiltonian statistical mechanics
16:40 - 17:30
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: G.E. Volovik
17:30 - 17:40
 D. Schuch,  Complex nonlinear relations in classical and quantum physics
17:40 - 17:50
 R.R. Parwani,  Properties of some information-theoretic nonlinear Schrödinger equations
17:50 - 18:10
 H. Steinacker,  Emergent 4D gravity from matrix models
18:10 - 18:20
 N. Sasakura,  Emergent general relativity in fuzzy spaces from tensor models
18:20 - 18:50
 N. Mavromatos,  Flavour vacua, space-time foam and cosmology
18:50 - 19:00
 J. Sarfatti,  Einstein's gravity as an emergent macro-quantum coherent vacuum field
20:30
  MESA ROTONDA
apperto al pubblico
 Dialoghi sulla complessita' -- dall' atomo all' Universo  
F.T. Arecchi (Univ. di Firenze), L. Fronzoni (Univ. di Pisa), A.M. Iacono (Univ. di Pisa), F. Luccio (Univ. di Pisa) and G. Vitiello (Univ. di Salerno, coordinatore)   [public  roundtable  discussion]
 
THURSDAY, September 25th
 Atomistic Theories of Spacetime

Chair: L. Bombelli
9:00 - 9:30
 D. Rideout,  Emergence of spacetime structure from a discrete causal order
9:30 - 10:00
 R. Sorkin,  Direct transmission of light along causal links
10:00 - 10:20
 O. Dreyer,  Early universe cosmology in internal relativity
10:20 -11:10
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: J.J. Halliwell
11:10 - 11:40
 L. Bombelli,  The action for gravity and matter fields in causal set theory
11:40 - 12:00
 S. Johnston,  Path integrals on causal sets
12:00 - 12:30
 J. Henson,  A histories perspective on emergent spacetime
12:30 - 12:50
 D. Oriti,  On the emergence of spacetime and matter in group field theory
13:00 - 15:00  -- Lunch at Ristorante Il Peschereccio --

Chair: D. Rideout
15:00 - 15:10
 L. Philpott,  Massless particle diffusion in causal set theory
15:10 - 15:30
 S. Surya,  A result in 2D causal set theory
15:30 - 15:50
 D. Terno,  Quantum tetrahedron and its classical limit
15:50 - 16:10
 F. Markopoulou,  Quantum graphity: a model of  emergent locality
16:10 - 16:20
 T. Konopka,  Matter in toy geometries
16:20 - 17:00
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: O. Bertolami
17:00 - 17:10
 C. Bastos,  Noncommutative quantum cosmology 
17:10 - 17:30
 P. Wallden,  The emergence of probabilities in anhomomorphic logic
17:30 - 17:50
 D. Song,  Immeasurability of zero-point energy in the cosmological constant problem
17:50 - 18:00
 V. Korotkikh,  Arithmetic for the unification of quantum mechanics and general relativity
19:00
  -- Aperitivo / Reception at Ristorante L'Astragalo --
20:00
  -- CONFERENCE DINNER at Ristorante L'Astragalo --


FRIDAY, September 26th
 Quantum - Entanglement / Gravity / Cosmology

Chair: H.-T. Elze
9:00 - 9:10
 F. Payandeh,  Krein space quantization of linear gravity in de Sitter spacetime 
9:10 - 9:20
 A.C. Shirazi,  Two-point function of massless spin-2 field in de Sitter universe
9:20 - 9:30
 R. Casadio,  Gravitational renormalization of quantum field theory
9:30 - 9:50
 D. Sudarsky,  New handles on the physics behind the quantum origin of the seeds of cosmic structure
9:50 - 10:20
 O. Bertolami,  Coupling dark energy with standard model states  
10:20 - 11:10
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: C. Chryssomalakos
11:10 - 11:30
 M. Cadoni,  Emergent gravity and entanglement entropy of black holes
11:30 - 11:50
 M. Blasone,  Multipartite entangled states in particle mixing
11:50 - 12:00
D. Pfenniger,  The decoherence scale of cosmological neutrinos and other semi-degenerate particles
12:00 - 12:20
 F. Dell'Anno,  Hierarchies of geometric entanglement
12:20 - 12:40
 F. Piazza,  Regions of space as subsystems: entropy and semiclassical gravity
12:40 - 12:50
 F. Costa,  Detector models in quantum field theory
12:50 - 13:00
 D. Pietreanu, Update on the VIP experiment
13:00 - 15:00
  -- Lunch at Ristorante Il Peschereccio --

Chair: P. Zenczykowski
15:00 - 15:20
 I. Kanatchikov, Quantum gravity and emergent space-time from De Donder-Weyl quantization
15:20 - 15:40
 R. Garattini,  Cosmological constant as eigenvalue of a Sturm-Liouville problem in modified gravity theories
15:40 - 16:00
 R. Erdem,  Towards the solution of  cosmological constant and zero point energy problems through metric reversal symmetry
16:00 - 16:10
 E. Minguzzi,  On the existence of time in non-singular spacetimes
16:10 - 16:50
  -- Coffee Break --

Chair: G. Vitiello
16:50 - 17:20
 C. Kiefer,  Concept of time in quantum gravity and string theory
17:20 - 17:50
 L.S. Schulman,  Source of the observed thermodynamic arrow

 -- CLOSING of WORKSHOP --    

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Proceedings

Proceedings of DICE2008 will be published online (with free access)
as a  volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series .
An instruction leaflet will be handed out with the conference material
and will be reproduced here as well.

Proceedings of DICE2006 in: 
Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 67 (2007)
L. Diosi, H.-T. Elze and G. Vitiello (eds.)
- free access at http://www.iop.org/EJ/toc/1742-6596/67/1

Proceedings of DICE2004 in:
Brazilian Journal of Physics, 35, no. 2A+2B, 205-529 (2005) 
H.-T. Elze (ed.) 
- free access at www.sbfisica.org.br/bjp

Proceedings of DICE2002 in:
Decoherence and Entropy in Complex Systems
Springer Lecture Notes in Physics, LNP 633
H.-T. Elze (ed.) (Springer, Berlin, 2004)

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Registration

The number of participants is limited at 100.
 
Registration procedure: 

1. Please, contact as soon as possible H.-Thomas Elze, elze@df.unipi.it
    providing:
    a) your name and affiliation (please, indicate if you are a student)
    b) a preliminary title, if you plan to contribute a paper
        (talk / poster presentations will be selected by the organizers based on
         the abstracts submitted until the deadline of July 15th).

2. Please, tell us the number of accompanying persons and
    your arrival/departure dates, as soon as possible.

3. Registration Fee:  250EU (students  180EU; accompanying persons 100EU).
    The fee will be charged in cash, at the registration desk. - It covers reception,
    coffee breaks, lunches, conference dinner, and proceedings.  

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Conference Site

The conference will take place at Castello Pasquini (Castiglioncello, Tuscany)  -
which is described in some beautiful details on this official site!
(A www browser search for Castello Pasquini or Castiglioncello is also fruitfull.) 






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Accommodation (Travel advise below) 

Participants (except invited speakers) are requested to reserve their accommodation
as soon as possible by direct contact with a chosen hotel. We present here a list of
hotels with which we have negotiated very advantageous rates for the conference.
In order to obtain conference rates, PLEASE, mention in all correspondence
with hotels that you are participant of Convegno DICE2008 , September 22-26,
at Castello Pasquini and the indicated rate !!

All hotels, with one indicated exception, are about 200-400 m away
from the conference site.
Prices are for Single / Double / Triple Rooms per night, incl. breakfast.

 Albergo Miramare *** EU 50 / 70 / 90  
(access to beach)
http://www.albergo-miramare.it  
info@albergo-miramare.it    

Hotel Corallo *** EU 50 / 70 / 90 
(closest to Castello Pasquini, short access to beach;
since single rooms very limited, hotel prefers double room reservations)
info@hotel-corallo.it  

Hotel Leopoldo *** EU 75 / 100 / 110
http://www.toscanatoscana.it
hotelleopoldo@tin.it  

Hotel Tirreno *** EU 60 / 80 / 100
http://www.hotel-tirreno.com
info@hoteltirreno.info   
 
Hotel Baia del Sorriso *** EU 65 / 85 / 110
(about 900 m from Castello Pasquini, yet beautiful location)
http://www.baiadelsorriso.com
info@baiadelsorriso.com

Hotel Martini **** EU 90 / 130 /
(modern, luxurious style)
http://www.villamartini.it
info@villamartini.it

A small number of very simple double rooms (student dormitory type)
are available at Castello Pasquini, for 20 EU per night used as single room,
or 15 EU per night per person shared as double room. There is a kitchen
to be shared by all. Please, send a request to elze@df.unipi.it  

Further hotels may also be found through the link above under
"Conference Site".

Travelling:
Nearest and most convenient is PISA airport.
From there you go by local train or taxi to the main train station Pisa Centrale,
which takes about 5 min.
Timetables for regional trains from Pisa Centrale to Castiglioncello, your destination,
will be given here later; the trip takes about 45 min.
From Roma Termini train station, the trip to Castiglioncello, may take about 3.5 h
by regional train.  
With long-distance fast trains, you have to reach Pisa or Livorno (from North) and 
Campiglia Marittima or Cecina (from South), in order to change for the
regional trains to Castiglioncello.  
Trenitalia Timetables are available here: http://www.trenitalia.it/it/nazionali.shtml

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=  
It might be of interest to prospective participants that during the week before DICE2008,
September 14-20, the Second Physics Workshop GRAVTUM II  will take place on the
Greek island of Amorgos - see gravtum II

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Sponsors



 
DOMUS GALILÆANA - Pisa -


 

Centro Interdisciplinare per lo Studio dei Sistemi Complessi
Universita di Pisa
 
     


           
Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica
Universita di Salerno    
 
iisf - Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici          
diploma d'onore del parlamento europeo · presidente onorario pierluigi celli
Via Monte di Dio 14 - Palazzo Serra di Cassano - 80132 Napoli - tel.: 081.7642652 · fax: 081.7642654 · mail: info@iisf.it






ARMUNIA
Castiglioncello
 





Institute Of Physics Publishing http://journals.iop.org
Dirac House, Bristol




Solvay Italia SA
Rosignano

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