I am a philosopher of physics, whose research focuses on the foundations, epistemology, and methodology of frontier physics. My main focus has been on quantum field theory and cosmology, though I have interests in quantum foundations and spacetime theories as well. I am largely concerned with the processes of theory construction, confirmation, and hypothesis formation in physics. The history of physics presents a paradigmatic example of successful theory construction and knowledge generation; the goal of my research is to critically examine 20th and 21st century physics in search of a general methodology of construction and confirmation. I focus largely on particle physics and cosmology, particularly where the two meet in early universe cosmology.
A philosopher of physics studies the deep questions behind how physics works—not just what physics tells us, but how and why we come to trust it.
Epistemology of physics is concerned with how physicists know what they claim to know about the universe. What counts as evidence in fields whose subject matter is so far removed from everyday experience, like quarks or the Big Bang?
Methodological questions concern the strategies, heuristics and assumptions that physicists use in the process of theory construction. What methods are the most reliable guides to knowledge or truth?
Foundations of physics is the critical examination of the concepts, structures, and mathematics that underlie our current theories. Are they jointly necessary for our best theories? Could other concepts and structures replace them?
Foundations of QFT
Quantum field theory is the framework in which our best theory of matter – the standard model of particle physics – is constructed. Relativistic QFT is both the most precisely tested framework and the messiest formalism in frontier physics. I believe that the best way to understand the framework is to focus on methodology and the process of theory construction. By focusing on the process of constructing and using QFT, we shift focus away from the imprecise and sometimes ill-defined structure of the theory as a static entity. What makes QFT so successful is its flexibility and the diverse uses to which it can be put.
Theory Construction
Though my focus on theory construction has largely centred on particle physics and quantum field theory, I am interested in the process of theory construction more generally in science. I believe that the lessons from quantum field theory are generalizable: we learn more about the epistemology and methodology of physics by focusing on science as a process. This involves paying close attention to all methods and tools used within a discipline, and situating these studies within the social and historical context.
Early Universe Cosmology
The early universe is a great window into high-energy physics, where gravitational and quantum effects play prominent roles in dynamical evolution. This is the realm where we can stretch the applicability of our current best theories near their breaking point. Conceptual and foundational issues like the cosmological constant problem, the physical source of inflation, and early universe phase transitions may point the way to new physics like a quantum theory of gravity. My research focuses on the ways that these problems highlight the limitations of the effective field theory framework, and therefore provide a more direct testing ground for new high-energy theories.
Quantum Theory
More basic than particular concerns about the methods, tools, and evidence for quantum field theory and quantum gravity are questions about how to understand the ways in which quantum theory represents the world (if at all). Philosophers and physicists have long been focused on how to interpret quantum theory. I am interested in the new perspectives that recent information-theoretic reconstructions of quantum theory can provide for understanding the structure of quantum theory. Though these do not typically provide a full interpretation of quantum theory, they can provide physical motivations for the necessity of quantum behaviour.
Publications
A. Koberinski. “The breakdown of effective field theory in particle physics: Lessons for understanding intertheoretic relations”, forthcoming in Philosophy of Science, 92.1, 100-120. doi:10.1017/psa.2024.30 (2025).
A. Koberinski and C. Smeenk. “Establishing a theory of inflationary cosmology”, forthcoming in the British Journal for Philosophy of Science. PhilSci Archive: 24102 (2024).
D. Fraser and A. Koberinski. “Frameworks in physics: Abstractness, generality, and the role of metaphysics”, forthcoming in Open Systems: Physics, Metaphysics, and Methodology, edited by Michael E. Cuffaro and Stephan Hartmann, Oxford University Press. PhilSci Archive: 23784 (2024).
A. Koberinski. “Phase transitions and the birth of early universe particle physics”, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 105, 59-73 doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2024.03.006 (2024).
A. Koberinski and C. Smeenk. “Philosophical issues in early universe cosmology”, In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Physics. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190871994.013.43, PhilSci Archive: 22697 (2024).
A. Koberinski, B. Falck, and C. Smeenk. “Contemporary Philosophical Perspectives on the Cosmological Constant,” Universe, 9.3, 134, doi:10.3390/universe9030134, arXiv:2212.04335 (2023).
A. Koberinski and C. Smeenk. “Lambda and the limits of effective field theory”, Philosophy of Science, 90.2, pp. 454-474 doi:10.1017/psa.2022.16, PhilSci Archive:20289 (2023).
A. Koberinski and D. Fraser. “Renormalization Group Methods and the Epistemology of Effective Field Theories,” Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 98, pp. 14-28 doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2023.01.003, PhilSci Archive:20975 (2023).
A. Koberinski. “Generalized frameworks: Structuring searches for new physics”, European Journal for Philosophy of Science 13.3, doi:10.1007/s13194-022-00504-7, PhilSci Archive:21520 (2023).
A. Koberinski. “What good is Haag’s no-go theorem? What axiomatic methods can teach us about particle physics”, PhilSci Archive:22807.
A. Koberinski. “‘Fundamental’ constants and precision tests of the standard model”, Philosophy of Science, 89.5, 1255-1264 doi:10.1017/psa.2022.41 PhilSci Archive:19799 (2022).
A. Koberinski. “Problems with the cosmological constant problem”, Beyond Spacetime, Oxford University Press, PhilSci Archive:14244 (2021).
A. Koberinski. “Regularizing (away) vacuum energy”, Foundations of Physics, 51.1 arXiv:2101.10891 (2021).
A. Koberinski. “Mathematical developments in the rise of Yang-Mills gauge theories,” Synthese, 198, 3747-3777 doi:10.1007/s11229-018-02070-z, PhilSci Archive:15477 (2021).
A. Koberinski and C. Smeenk. “QED, Q.E.D.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 71, 1-13 (2020).
A. Koberinski, L. Dunlap, and W. Harper. `”Do the EPR correlations pose a problem for causal decision theory?” Synthese 196.9, 3711-3722, PhilSci Archive:14104 (2019).
C. Fox, M. Gueguen, A. Koberinski, and C. Smeenk. “Philosophy of Cosmology.” Oxford Bibliography in Philosophy. doi: 10.1093/obo/9780195396577-0233 (2019).
A. Koberinski. “Parity violation in weak interactions: How experiment can shape a theoretical framework,” Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 67, 64-77 (2019).
A. Koberinski and M. P. Müller. “Quantum theory as a principle theory: insights from an information-theoretic reconstruction,” 257-279, Physical perspectives on computation, computational perspectives on physics, Cambridge University Press, arXiv:1707.05602 (2018).
D. Fraser and A. Koberinski, “The Higgs mechanism and superconductivity: A case study of formal analogies,” Studies in the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 55, 72-91, PhilSci Archive:12449 (2016).
A. Koberinski, A. Baglaenko, M. Stastna, “Schmidt number effects on Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a thin channel,” Physics of Fluids 27, 084102 (2015).
Works in Progress
A. Koberinski. “The fate of particles in finite-temperature quantum field theory”.
A. Koberinski and C. Smeenk. “Effective decoupling in inflation”.
A. Koberinski. “It’s not 0K: Conceptual challenges in finite-temperature field theory”.
A. Koberinski “Searching high and low: precision measurement, machine learning, and experimental discovery in particle physics”.
Adam Koberinski 