Catalina Curceanu "Testing Quantum Mechanics Underground: Sneaking a look at God’s cards"

Mind and Agency Conference - Chapman University 2022

We are experimentally investigating possible departures from the standard quantum mechanics’ predictions at the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in Italy. In particular, with radiation detectors we are searching signals predicted by the collapse models (spontaneous emission of radiation) which were proposed to solve the “measurement problem” in quantum physics and signals coming from a possible violation of the Pauli Exclusion Principle. I shall discuss our recent results which ruled out the natural parameter-free version of the gravity-related collapse model and the implications for Orch OR models. I shall then present more generic results on testing CSL (Continuous Spontaneous Localization) collapse models and discuss future perspectives. Finally, I shall briefly present the VIP experiment with which we look for possible violations of the Pauli Exclusion Principle by searching for “impossible” atomic transitions and comment the impact of this research in relation to Quantum Gravity models. Borrowing the title of a beautiful book of Giancarlo Ghirardi – I shall tell you the story of how we are sneaking a look at God’s cards in the cosmic silence!