Quantum Mechanics and Observers for Gravity in a Closed Universe

This seminar from the High Energy Physics (HEP) series features MIT physicist Daniel Harlow exploring the paradoxical concept that quantum gravity in a closed universe might have a one-dimensional Hilbert space. Examine recent arguments supporting this counterintuitive proposition and discover a potential resolution based on the necessity of including a classical observer when applying quantum mechanics to closed systems. Learn how this theoretical framework might reconcile the apparent contradiction between a one-dimensional Hilbert space and the complexity of our everyday experiences in the universe.