Quantum Physics and Philosophy

Title: On the Feynman view of antimatter, as ordinary matter reversed in time

Abstract: Richard Feynman famously proposed that antimatter is just ordinary matter travelling in the reverse direction of time. This led him to proclaim, „positrons could simply be represented as electrons going from the future to the past in a back section of their world lines“. Is Feynman’s view a striking new fact about the nature of space, time and matter? Or, is it just a charming metaphor? This talk explores a variety of reasons one could give for Feynman’s view of antimatter, from Feynman diagrams to quantisation, with an aim to separating the grains of truth from the lore.

The event takes place on tuesday 20th of May at 5.30 pm in Lise-Meitner lecture Hall*, 1st floor, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090 Vienna

*Please note: our email mistakenly mentioned the Christian-Doppler Lecture Hall. We apologize for the confusion.

Afterwards: Get-Together with snacks

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About the speaker

Bryan W. Roberts is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the London School of Economics and a project leader at the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Sciences (CPNSS). His research lies at the intersection of physics, mathematics, and philosophy, with a focus on the foundations of quantum theory, space and time, symmetry, and black hole thermodynamics. He previously held fellowships at Trinity College Cambridge and taught in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). Bryan is also a member of the leadership committee of Spectrum, the LGBTQIA+ staff network at LSE. His most recent book, Reversing the Arrow of Time (CUP, 2022), explores the origins of time’s direction and is freely available here.

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Quantum Outside the Box is a collaborative effort of the Vienna Doctoral School in Physics and the VCQ.