Graduate University for de Broglie-Bohm Theory Research

cryptist

Hi everyone,
I am a junior undergraduate physics student now and I want to study "de Broglie-Bohm theory" in my graduate research.
Can you tell me which universities have this study for graduate? (My gpa is low, so please try to do not mention about very challenging universities like Rutgers or Cambridge)

Demystifier

It is very hard to find such an university. I suggest you to study it by yourself, from many excellent books and papers. If you have a trouble with some specific aspect, you can ask a question here. I will be happy to answer it.

jtbell

If you want to do a Ph.D. dissertation in this area, I suspect that you had best take note of who is actually publishing work about it, find out which of them are willing to be your dissertation advisor, and then go work with one of them at his university.

Meir Achuz

When you learn more QM, you may not
want to study "de Broglie-Bohm theory".
Don't limit your choices by that.

Maaneli

Hi,

Meir is right, that is a possibility. Nevertheless, in the Spring of 2011, Antony Valentini will be starting up a research group at Clemson University on de Broglie-Bohm theory and other Hidden Variables theories. In fact, I will be attending Clemson this upcoming year to start my PhD work with Valentini as his first student. I suggest writing to Valentini and telling him of your intentions and interest. You can tell him that Maaneli Derakhshani referred you to him.

Vanadium 50

First, if your GPA is too low for "very challenging universities like Rutgers" it may well be too low for many places. The difference in quality between a Top 10 school and a Top 50 school is smaller than you probably think.

Second, everyone ends up working on a single specialized problem in the graduate school phase of our careers. It is very dangerous to specialize in one possible answer to this single specialized problem. It is even more dangerous to do this so early in one's career.

Maaneli

You are mischaracterizing the de Broglie-Bohm theory and research on hidden variables in general. The de Broglie-Bohm theory (as well as other hidden variable theories) is not any more of a 'specialized' approach to QM than is the more standard Copenhagen/decoherence based approach to QM.

Your advice is actually more applicable to students who are considering doing a PhD in quantum gravity, and focusing exclusively on a single approach such as canonical quantum gravity, string theory, causal sets, etc..

cryptist

It would be wonderful, I heard Antony Valentini's name he is also at the Perimeter Institute I think. It would be a pleasure to me work with him. I will consider your reference, thank you for that.

Maaneli

Here also is some career advice from Valentini himself:

http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~mdt26/.../valentini.avi

Maaneli

You're most welcome. Antony has recently created a partnership between PI and Clemson so that he can send his graduate students to PI for 1 month every year (fully paid for by PI), and also receive students from PI.

Prior to his stint at Imperial College (where he is currently finishing up), he was a researcher at PI for 4 years.

cryptist

I agree with Maaneli. De Broglie-Bohm theory is very fundamental and large subject, it covers all quantum mechanics from the very beginning. Besides, I have work about quantum teleportation also. I wrote extensive report about quantum teleportation.

Maaneli

Cool. Who knows, maybe you could develop the de Broglie-Bohm account of quantum teleportation as well!

Vanadium 50

How many people get a PhD in "Copenhagen QM"?

You don't like "specialized"? OK, how about "unorthodox". I think it's a bad idea for a student to pick a particular unorthodox approach that early in their career. I don't think an undergraduate knows enough to decide that one particular unorthodox approach is superior.

cryptist

Thanks :) Yes, we should try to develop de Broglie-Bohm from all aspects and complete it as a valid interpretation.

Demystifier

I think it is trivial to make the de Broglie-Bohm account of quantum teleportation once you have
1) An "orthodox" account of quantum teleportation
and
2) A general formulation of de Broglie-Bohm quantum theory

In my opinion, we already have 1) and we already have enough of 2) (as long as relativity and quantum field theory are not essential for understanding of quantum teleportation). Therefore, I think it is trivial.

Demystifier

I don't think it is necessary to develop de Broglie-Bohm from all aspects, because from most aspects it is trivial. One should concentrate on nontrivial aspects of de Broglie-Bohm, such as relativity, quantum field theory, and conditions under which the measurable predictions of de Broglie-Bohm could differ from orthodox QM. The latter is perhaps most difficult, and this is something which Valentini is working on. So, Valentini is a good choice.

Demystifier

The good news is that you cannot learn de Broglie-Bohm theory without learning "orthodox" QM. All equations of "orthodox" QM are also equations of de Broglie-Bohm theory. (The opposite is not true.) So, by learning de Broglie-Bohm theory, you also learn the "orthodox" QM.