The Subquantum World: What Lies Beneath Quantum Theory?

Quantum theory appears to allow some kind of connection between entangled particles, but not enough to send messages. Prof Antony Valentini argues this is a conspiracy: there must be something deeper than quantum, where nonlocality can actually be used to send messages, but it is hidden from view in standard quantum experiments. In this episode of the Quantum Foundations Podcast, Valentini uses Pilot-wave theory to explain the physics of the nonlocal subquantum world. He discusses various ways that the theory could be experimentally tested, by looking for signatures of violations of the Born rule in extreme environments, such as the early universe. He also discusses the radical technological implications of subquantum physics, if we were able to harness it. Valentini recently released a book for a general audience explaining these ideas, "Beyond the Quantum: A Quest for the Origin and Hidden Meaning of Quantum Mechanics", have a read to find out more! Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/019885374... Timestamps 00:00 Coming Up 00:40 Why nonlocality matters 11:42 The subquantum demon 21:37 Where the Born rule comes from 31:41 Could quantum theory allow faster-than-light signals? 43:11 Testing the Born rule in the early universe 56:24 Dark matter, relic particles, and space experiments 01:05:12 Primordial black holes and subquantum measurement 01:17:37 Hacking quantum cryptography? 01:23:39 Computing beyond quantum limits 01:30:25 Does superluminal signalling break relativity? 01:45:24 Pilot-wave quantum gravity 01:59:45 Key takeaways 02:02:38 The measurement problem Listen on... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/70ZHC5R... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Podbean & more: https://mariaviolaris.podbean.com If you enjoyed this... ...like, subscribe, comment & share with your friends! If you'd like to support my content, you can buy me a coffee here: https://buymeacoffee.com/mariaviolaris. For larger donations, support via my Fellow profile on the Conjecture Institute website: Profile link - https://www.conjectureinstitute.org/#... Donation link - https://www.every.org/conjecture-inst... All support much appreciated & will help keep my content going and push it to new levels. Podcast Background I'm Maria, I'm a quantum physicist and science communicator. I completed my DPhil in the foundations of quantum information at Oxford, and I now work on quantum computing at Oxford Quantum Circuits, alongside my personal quantum foundations research. I enjoy day-to-day conversations that change my perspective on what our best theories tell us about reality. This podcast aims to share these conversations and up-to-date research insights more widely. Episode links and resources Valentini's book, "Beyond the Quantum: A Quest for the Origin and Hidden Meaning of Quantum Mechanics". Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/019885374... ____________________ Antony Valentini's online profiles Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_... Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?... Maria Violaris' online profiles Personal website: https://www.mariaviolaris.com Twitter / X:   / maria__violaris   Bluesky: https://app.bsky.cz/profile/mariaviol... LinkedIn:   / maria-violaris   Instagram: @maria.violaris Substack: https://mariaviolaris.substack.com Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?...