Speaker
Alessandro Contini
Description
Based on ongoing work with Alexander Strohmaier, we review the algebraic approach to quantum field theory on curved spacetimes in the presence of a timelike boundary. In particular, we look at quasi-free states which are determined by their action on pairs of observables, and introduce a notion of Hadamard states in this context: they are bisolutions to the mixed Dirichlet-Cauchy problem for a normally hyperbolic operator, satisfying a precise microlocal condition in addition. We will hint at how one can prove the existence of such states, using techniques from the b-calculus.