Politecnico di Milano joins $4M study of quantum reality’s foundations

Politecnico di Milano joins $4 M study of quantum reality’s foundations

Politecnico di Milano has become a central hub for an international research effort funded with $4,108,509 by the John Templeton Foundation. The project, titled Open Quantum Systems and Causal Structure of Reality, aims to rethink core assumptions about how quantum systems interact with their environments and how causality operates when cause and effect are not clearly separated.

A multidisciplinary push on quantum foundations

The initiative is led by Prof. Giovanni Valente (Politecnico di Milano) together with Prof. Karim Thébault (University of Bristol). It brings together mathematicians, philosophers, and experimental physicists from institutions across Europe and the United States, including universities in Munich, Groningen, Lancaster, Vienna, Madrid, and Chapman. Within Politecnico di Milano, the FoQuS – Foundations of Quantum Systems laboratory will host the work, with contributions from faculty such as Prof. Michele Correggi, Prof. Vojkan Jaksic, Prof. Fabrizio Colombo, Prof. Franco Fagnola, Prof. Davide Fermi, and Prof. Irene Sabadini.

Research goals and expected impact

The grant supports several interlinked objectives:

• Open quantum systems: Developing mathematical tools to describe quantum systems that are never truly isolated, but constantly exchange information with their surroundings.
• Quantum causality: Formulating a causal framework that can accommodate superpositions of causal orders and indefinite causal structures.
• Arrow of time: Investigating how thermodynamic irreversibility emerges from underlying quantum dynamics.

By integrating rigorous mathematical physics with philosophical analysis and experimental insights, the team hopes to produce a new theoretical foundation that could influence quantum information science, quantum thermodynamics, and even emerging quantum technologies.

Institutional collaboration and broader relevance

Beyond the core research team, the project will draw on the META (Social Sciences and Humanities for Science and Technology) group at Politecnico di Milano to foster interdisciplinary dialogue. The collaboration reflects a growing trend of funding agencies encouraging cross‑disciplinary approaches to deep questions in quantum theory, recognizing that progress often requires insights from both the hard sciences and the humanities.

Looking ahead

While the study is still in its early stages, the substantial funding and the breadth of expertise involved suggest a strong potential for influential outcomes. Results are expected to be disseminated through peer‑reviewed publications, workshops, and open‑access reports, contributing to the global conversation on the nature of quantum reality.

--- For more details, see the official announcement from Politecnico di Milano’s FoQuS laboratory.