Motivation
(1) Effective methods in other fields (e.g. quarkonium, hydrodynamics, nonequilibrium QFT) to study
effects of dissipation and noise and decoherence have seen a lot of progress in recent years, and
cosmology / gravity can benefit from bringing these tools and perspectives in a structured way.
(2) In addition there has been rapid progress in quantum gravity and various aspects of quantum
information theory including entanglement and complexity, as well in topics like studying quantum
properties of matter in fields like condense matter physics.
(3) There has been a major increase in quantum technologies, and quantum sensing in particular
may fill gaps or improve sensitivity for particle dark matter and gravitational signals.
Plan/format
The programme would be split into
(i) a small number of lectures that summarise key methods and set a common
language.
(ii) invited plenaries reviewing progress on key topics (~ hour) aimed at an interdisciplinary
crowd.
(iii) invited talks on interesting works (~ 30 min).
(iv) If time allows, we may include a limited number of posters.
Aim: The aim is to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and transfer of knowledge at the
intersection of quantum physics. We would like this to be useful in a practical sense, for researchers in
Japan and abroad that are interested to learn and engage in research in these topics and
how these platforms could be used to learn more about our quantum universe.
Dates
3 - 7 August, 2026
Venue
The on-site workshop will take place at the Lecture Hall of Kavli IPMU, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa Campus (5-1-5, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba, 277-8584, Japan).
This workshop is in-person only.
Invited speakers
Lectures:
-
Greg Kaplanek (Syracuse U.) - Introduction to open quantum systems from the top-down / in-in formalism
- Yukinao Akamatsu (Osaka U.) - Introduction to master equations
-
Masaru Hongo (Niigata U.) - Introduction to effective theories in hydrodynamics.
- Lucas Marchetti (OIST & IPMU) - Introduction to relational
frames in quantum gravity
Plenaries:
-
Andrew Tolley (Imperial)
-
Cliff Burgess (McMaster U. & Perimeter Inst.)
- Toshifumi Noumi (Tokyo U.)
- Jason Pollack (Syracuse Institute for Quantum & Information Sciences)
- Tadashi Takayanagi (Kyoto U.)
- Amaury Micheli (RIKEN)
- Jiro Soda (Kobe U.)
- Takahiro Tanaka (Kyoto U.)
- Yannis Georis (IPMU)
- Hajime Fukuda (Tokyo U.)
-
Kyohei Mukaida (KEK)
-
...
- ...
Invited talks:
- Genki Yoshimura (Osaka)
- Atsuhisa Ota (Chogging U.)
- Fumiya Sano (Tokyo U.)
* to be confirmed
SOC
IPMU:
- Maria Mylova (chair)
- Jun’ichi Yokoyama
- Masahito Yamazaki
- Tom Melia
- Elisa Ferreira
- Luca Marchetti
- Yannis Georis
External:
- Yukinao Akamatsu (Osaka U.)
- Andrew Tolley (Imperial)
- Greg Kaplanek (Syracuse U.)
LOC
- Maria Mylova (chair)
- Jun’ichi Yokoyama
- Masahito Yamazaki
- Tom Melia
- Elisa Ferreira
- Luca Marchetti
- Yannis Georis
- Jianing Wang
- Xinpeng Wang
- Takafumi Tsukui
- Qiuyue Liang
- Yiwen Huang
Contact
quantum-crossroads_2026@ipmu.jp
