Robert Spekkens

Robert Spekkens
Nationality	Canadian
Citizenship	Canadian
Alma mater	McGill University, University of Toronto
Known for	Spekkens toy model; quantum contextuality
Awards	Birkhoff-von Neumann Prize of the International Quantum Structures Association (2008); FQXI Essay contest "Questioning the Foundations: Which of Our Assumptions Are Wrong?" (2012)
Scientific career
Fields	Physicist
Institutions	Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics University of Cambridge University of Waterloo Griffith University

Robert W. Spekkens is a Canadian theoretical quantum physicist working in the fields of quantum foundations and quantum information.[1][2][3]

He is known for his work on epistemic view of quantum states (in particular the Spekkens toy model),[4][5][6] quantum contextuality,[7][8][9] quantum resource theories[10][11] and quantum causality.[12][13]

He co-edited the book Quantum Theory: Informational Foundations and Foils.[14]

Career

Spekkens is a faculty member and the leader of the quantum causal inference initiative at Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.[15][16] He regularly teaches the course on quantum foundations in the Perimeter Scholars International master's program.[17][18]

He is an adjunct faculty in the Department of Physics of the University of Waterloo[19] and an adjunct research fellow in the Centre for Quantum Dynamics of Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.[15]

Awards

• 2012 FQXI Essay contest "Questioning the Foundations: Which of Our Assumptions Are Wrong?"[20]

References

1. Castelvecchi, Davide (2018-09-18). "Reimagining of Schrödinger's cat breaks quantum mechanics — and stumps physicists". Nature. 561 (7724): 446–447. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-06749-8. PMID 30254348. S2CID 52821314.
2. Cavalcanti, Eric. "Schrödinger's cat gets a reality check". The Conversation. Retrieved 2022-04-16.
3. Castelvecchi, Davide (19 September 2018). "Reimagining of Schrödinger's Cat Breaks Quantum Mechanics and Stumps Physicists". Nature. 561 (7724): 446–447. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-06749-8. PMID 30254348. S2CID 52821314. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
4. Harrigan, Nicholas; Spekkens, Robert W. (2010-02-01). "Einstein, Incompleteness, and the Epistemic View of Quantum States". Foundations of Physics. 40 (2): 125–157. arXiv:0706.2661. doi:10.1007/s10701-009-9347-0. ISSN 1572-9516. S2CID 32755624.
5. Spekkens, Robert W. (March 19, 2007). "Evidence for the epistemic view of quantum states: A toy theory". Physical Review A. 75 (3): 032110. arXiv:quant-ph/0401052. Bibcode:2007PhRvA..75c2110S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.75.032110. S2CID 117284016.
6. "Entangled photons cast a new light on cause and effect". Physics World. 2015-03-30. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
7. Spekkens, R. W. (2005-05-31). "Contextuality for preparations, transformations, and unsharp measurements". Physical Review A. 71 (5): 052108. arXiv:quant-ph/0406166. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.71.052108. S2CID 38186461.
8. Liang, Yeong-Cherng; Spekkens, Robert W.; Wiseman, Howard M. (2011-09-01). "Specker's parable of the overprotective seer: A road to contextuality, nonlocality and complementarity". Physics Reports. 506 (1): 1–39. doi:10.1016/j.physrep.2011.05.001. hdl:10072/42574. ISSN 0370-1573.
9. Musser, George (2016-01-19). "Quantum Weirdness Now a Matter of Time". Quanta Magazine. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
10. Brandão, Fernando G. S. L.; Horodecki, Michał; Oppenheim, Jonathan; Renes, Joseph M.; Spekkens, Robert W. (2013-12-18). "Resource Theory of Quantum States Out of Thermal Equilibrium". Physical Review Letters. 111 (25): 250404. arXiv:1111.3882. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.250404. PMID 24483734. S2CID 29481474.
11. Gour, Gilad; Spekkens, Robert W. (2008-03-17). "The resource theory of quantum reference frames: manipulations and monotones". New Journal of Physics. 10 (3): 033023. arXiv:0711.0043. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/10/3/033023. ISSN 1367-2630. S2CID 119185952.
12. Wood, Christopher J; Spekkens, Robert W (2015-03-03). "The lesson of causal discovery algorithms for quantum correlations: causal explanations of Bell-inequality violations require fine-tuning". New Journal of Physics. 17 (3): 033002. arXiv:1208.4119. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/17/3/033002. ISSN 1367-2630. S2CID 118518558.
13. Leifer, M. S.; Spekkens, Robert W. (2013-11-27). "Towards a formulation of quantum theory as a causally neutral theory of Bayesian inference". Physical Review A. 88 (5): 052130. arXiv:1107.5849. doi:10.1103/physreva.88.052130. ISSN 1050-2947. S2CID 43563970.
14. Colbeck, Roger; Renner, Renato (2016). Chiribella, Giulio; Spekkens, Robert W. (eds.). "Quantum Theory: Informational Foundations and Foils". Fundamental Theories of Physics. 181. arXiv:1208.4123. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-7303-4. ISBN 978-94-017-7302-7. ISSN 0168-1222. S2CID 118699215.
15. "Robert Spekkens | Perimeter Institute". perimeterinstitute.ca. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
16. "Quantum causal inference initiative | Perimeter Institute". perimeterinstitute.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
17. "12/13 PSI - Found Quantum Mechanics | PIRSA". pirsa.org. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
18. "PSI master's program | Perimeter Institute". perimeterinstitute.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
19. "Robert Spekkens". Physics and Astronomy. 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
20. "The Paradigm of Kinematics and Dynamics Must Yield to Causal Structure by Robert W. Spekkens". fqxi.org. Retrieved 2022-04-14.