https://www.iqoqi-vienna.at/news-events/conceptual-foundations-of-qft

Multi-Time Quantum Process Tomography On A Superconducting Qubit, Christina Giarmatzi, Tyler Jones, Alexei Gilchrist, Prasanna Pakkiam, Arkady Fedorov, Fabio Costa, Quantum 9, 1952 (2025). https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2025-12-18-1952/

link: https://www.iqoqi-vienna.at/de/news-events/conceptual-foundations-of-qft

Hope to see many of you there!

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Causalworlds 2026 - First Call for Papers

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Causalworlds 2026: The 3rd International Conference on Quantum, Classical, and Relativistic Causality

Grenoble, France, June 22-26, 2026

https://causalworlds2026.inria.fr

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Presentation and scope

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Understanding causality is foundational to science and has wide-ranging applications, yet there are several distinct notions of causation. Recently, there have been important developments on the role of causality in quantum physics, relativistic physics and their interplay. These have unearthed a plethora of deep and fascinating questions regarding the nature of causation in physical theories, emergence of space-time structure and how relativistic principles can shape the landscape of quantum information processing. At the same time, causal reasoning is central in classical statistics, and has become a crucial tool in machine learning, with applications ranging from big data to healthcare. The interface between classical and quantum causality has also been crucial for identifying when and how quantum theory can surpass classical models in information processing. Causalworlds aims to bring together researchers from different areas of physics, computer science, mathematics and philosophy working on such questions related to causality, both from fundamental and applied perspectives, to provide a venue for cross-pollination of ideas and techniques across these disciplines and consolidate efforts towards a more unified understanding of causation.

The scope of the conference includes (but is not limited to): 

* Quantum and classical causal inference and causal models

* The role of causal structure in information processing

* Indefinite causality and quantum reference frames

* Cyclic causality and time symmetry

* Causality in quantum field theory and quantum gravity

* Experiments in causality and applications

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Important Dates

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* Paper submission deadline: Feb 20, 2026 (AoE)

* Paper notification: Late March, 2026

* Conference: June 22-26, 2026

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Submission Guidelines

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We invite submissions of papers for talk and/or posters. Submissions for a talk will automatically be considered for a poster if not accepted for a talk.

* Talk: Submission will consist of a 3 page (excluding references) extended abstract, together with a link to the full paper (published or preprint) or a draft of the manuscript if not yet publicly available.

* Poster: Submission will consist of a short plaintext abstract. Work in progress is welcome.

Submissions will be considered via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences?conf=cw2026

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Invited Speakers

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To be announced shortly.

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Organising Committee

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* Alastair Abbott (Inria)

* Cyril Branciard (Institut Néel)

* Mehdi Mhalla (LIG)

* Kuntal Sengupta (Institut Néel)

* V. Vilasini (Inria)

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PC Chairs

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* Alastair Abbott (Inria)

* Elie Wolfe (Perimeter Institute)

The programme committee will be announced shortly.

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Causalworlds Steering Committee

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* Hlér Kristjánsson (Université de Montréal & Mila)

* V. Vilasini (Inria)

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Previous editions:

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* Causalworlds 2024 at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Canada (https://events.perimeterinstitute.ca/event/69/)
-Link to talk recordings of Causalworlds 2024: https://pirsa.org/c24018
-Link to an article about Causalworlds 2024: https://perimeterinstitute.ca/news/causation-rules-our-lives-how-does-it-work-quantum-realm

* Causalworlds 2022 at ETH Zürich, Switzerland (https://causalworlds.ethz.ch/)
-Link to talk recordings of Causalworlds 2022: https://www.youtube.com/@CausalWorlds

An interacting quantum system and thermal bath can reach thermal equilibrium, resulting in the system and bath acquiring the same temperature. But how does a delocalized quantum system thermalize with a bath whose local temperature varies as, for example, in the Tolman effect? Here, we formulate two scenarios in which the notion of a “superposition of temperatures” may arise: first, a probe interaction with two different baths dependent on the state of another quantum system (a control); and second, a probe interaction with a single bath whose purified state is a superposition of states that each correspond to different temperatures. We show that the two scenarios are fundamentally different and can be operationally distinguished. Moreover, we show that the final probe state is sensitive to the specific realization of the thermalizing channels, and that our results hold for partial and prethermalization cases. Our models may be applied to scenarios involving joint quantum and relativistic phenomena, and explain some recent results found in quantum interference of relativistic probes thermalizing with Unruh or Hawking radiation.

I recently gave a seminar for WG2 on our recent preprint “Quantum signatures of proper time in optical ion clocks,” written in collaboration with Gabriel Sorci, Dietrich Leibfried, Christian Sanner, and Igor Pikovski . Dennis suggested I start a discussion on this work; feel free to contribute in the replies, I will be glad to discuss further. 

In our paper, we show that optical ion clocks can be used to probe quantum signatures of proper time that cannot be explained by a semiclassical description (e.g. one in which the clock’s evolution occurs with respect to a fixed external parameter). We derive observable signatures in optical ion clocks that require a “quantisation” of proper time through dependence on the momentum operator, tau = tau(p-hat^2). We show that by preparing initial squeezed motional states of the clock, the interferometric visibility of the internal states (i.e. “the clock”) observably reduces, an effect that results from entanglement between the internal and external degrees of freedom of the clock. We also show that this quantum treatment of proper time leads to anomalous excitation of the clock’s motion when initially prepared in its ground state, leading to a new frequency shift dubbed “quantum second-order Doppler shift”.

Albert raised some good questions following the seminar, and the discussion can be viewed on the recording of the seminar on the RQI-Cost YouTube page. One question was whether state-engineering the ground and excited states of the clock to follow the same trajectory can “mitigate” the visibility loss effect. 

https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.09573

 In the file attached you will find information about Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM) Grants within our action. 

Please keep in mind that this is an open call for STSMs during 01.01.2026-30.09.2026 and the mission should last at least 5 days.

Good luck with the application,

Maria  Jivulescu

Leader WG5

The Science Communication Plan for RQI consists of the following activities.

1. Use video podcasts to attract interest from the public to RQI research.

 To this end, we plan a series of podcasts that will involve interviews with scientists on topics of fundamental physics relevant to RQI, for which there is a large audience among the general public. This includes topics such as the Information Paradox in Black Holes, Interpretations of Quantum Theory, and the Future of Quantum Technologies. These podcasts will appear in online platforms like Youtube or Spotify, in the Action’s webpage, and we will use the broader network of Action members (e.g., their Universities) for broader circulation.

The budget allocated to this activity during the first two years will be small (less that 10,000 euros). If the podcasts turn out to attract a large audience, we will expand on this activity during the final two years of the Action. We will produce podcasts to promote specific results in the Action, and we will expand on less well known topics of RQI, for example, the issue of time and causality in Quantum Theory. 

2. Create an Action Webpage. The Action Webpage will present all activities of the Action, its deliverables in terms of seminars and lectures notes, and it will have a forum section, where researchers can communicate directly. The web page will also have a blog, where we will encourage Action Members to write popular articles describing their research. Members of the Working Group 4 that is dedicated to Outreach will identify the best articles and suggest submission to popular science publications with great visibility.
3. The Action will encourage its members to pitch or author relevant popular-science articles to international science publications. The Action will also provide relevant training to all members in the form of online seminars. The Action foresees popular-science articles being about the Action’s research appearing in magazines such as Scientific American, Physics World, Physics Today, and the New Scientist, as well as in social media
4. Develop educational multimedia materials. The Action will make an effort to prepare short animated explainers, infographics, and interactive modules introducing key ideas of RQI. This material would be tailored for teachers and students, distributed freely through the Action’s webpage and through collaborations with European educational networks. This would strengthen the outreach beyond the research community and ensure long-term visibility of RQI.
5. The Action will send press releases to present its activities (training schools, conferences, outreach events), and also to report important scientific advancements in the field of RQI.
6. The Action will try to include outreach activities in all conferences and workshops of the Action. The activities may include popular talks addressed to a broad audience. In some events, we will endeavor to include training activities for high-school teachers, to introduce them to the main ideas and prospects of Quantum Science and Technology. 
7. The Action will produce several white papers that describe its research outputs, and its longer- term vision. These will be non-technical communications addressed to stakeholders (research organizations, industry) and to policymakers.
8. The Action will initiate contacts with policy makers at the EU and national levels, in order to promote the topics of the Action.