David Gabriel Tempel edited section_Abstract_A_200_word__.tex  almost 9 years ago

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A large segment of my group works at the intersection of quantum chemistry with quantum computation and information theory as well as open quantum systems. Our research addresses how quantum systems can be used to simulate other quantum systems and the effects of decoherence. We have also worked in fields related to chemical dynamics and time-dependent processes in chemistry, as well as spectroscopy. A unifying theme of all this research is that it involves understanding how quantum many-body systems evolve in time.  Working in time-dependent quantum mechanics has led my group to ask the deep questions about the fundamental nature of time outlined in this proposal. I have a large interdisciplinary group with diverse backgrounds in physics and chemistry, well equipped to address both the computational and conceptual aspects of the proposed work. However, we do not yet have funding available to work exclusively on the fundamental role of time. The FQXI grant will help us to devote more resources to the answer these  fundamental questions about time. questions.  \subsection{Communicating Results to a Wider Audience}  The work outlined in this proposal is of broad interest to many scientific communities, ranging from applied chemists to theoretical physicists. The work is also of high impact as it addresses problems that have remained unanswered since the early days of quantum theory. As a result, we believe that the results of our work will be suitable for journals such as Science and Nature, which are read by a large and diverse readership. Also, because the proposed work is of interest to chemists and physicists, physicists alike,  we intend to present it at conferences to involving  many different scientific communities. I have been involved in developing online course material though the Harvardx platform, with open-access to non-experts and lay people throughout the world. The results of our proposed research are sufficiently fundamental that they can be presented as part of my introductory online quantum mechanics course.