Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Ivette Fuentes: The Breakthrough We Can Test Right Now

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Nov 10, 2025

Professor Ivette Fuentes, a leading mind in relativistic quantum information, dives into the testable predictions of the Casimir effect and her innovative 'third way' approach to quantum gravity. She discusses her journey in extending the Berry phase to quantum fields, highlighting its experimental verifications. Fuentes also debates the perceived stagnation in physics, arguing for experimental ingenuity. With a blend of quantum mechanics and relativity, she offers insights into entanglement, dynamical effects, and her vision for groundbreaking research in modern physics.

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INSIGHT

Theory Guided By Experimental Testability

Fuentes emphasizes theorists must aim for experimentally testable proposals, drawing on her quantum optics background.
She sets a high internal bar and often discards ideas she deems too far from experimental reach.

ANECDOTE

Vacuum-Induced Geometric Phase Verified

Ivette Fuentes described her PhD work predicting a vacuum-induced geometric (Berry) phase in a quantum field.
She later learned Andrea Warloff's group experimentally verified the effect, which was an exciting confirmation.

ANECDOTE

Dynamical Casimir Predictions Tested In Labs

Fuentes predicted relativistic motion and dynamical Casimir setups could implement quantum gates and cluster states.
Chris Wilson and collaborators used superconducting circuits to demonstrate dynamical Casimir effects and verified her predictions experimentally.

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Professor Ivette Fuentes makes impossible physics testable, with verified predictions on the Casimir effect and quantum vacuum. Now she's building a "third way" to quantum gravity, a surprisingly simple model that changes both quantum mechanics and relativity instead of forcing one to dominate the other. SPONSORS: - As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toe SUPPORT: - Support me on Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Support me on Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/de803625-87d3-4300-ab6d-85d4258834a9 - Support me on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 JOIN MY SUBSTACK (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com LISTEN ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00 - A Third Way to Quantum Gravity - 07:35 - Vacuum-Induced Berry Phase - 12:30 - Dynamical Casimir Effect - 19:02 - Stagnation in Physics? - 29:25 - A Third Way to Unification - 38:20 - What is Physics? - 43:43 - What is Entanglement? - 56:11 - Observer-Dependent Entanglement - 1:03:20 - Advice for Students LINKS MENTIONED: - Ivette’s First Appearance [TOE]: https://youtu.be/cUj2TcZSlZc - Ivette’s Published Papers: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=W7-xksIAAAAJ&hl=en - Ivette’s Website: https://ivettefuentes.weebly.com/ - Berry Phase: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/mathematics/berry-phase - Maria Violaris [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Iya6tYN37ow - Casimir Effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_effect - Towards Universal Quantum Computation Through Relativistic Motion [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1311.5619 - SQUID: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQUID - Observation Of The Dynamical Casimir Effect In A Superconducting Circuit [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1105.4714 - Generating Multimode Entangled Microwaves With A Superconducting Parametric Cavity [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1709.00083 - Sir Roger Penrose [TOE]: https://youtu.be/iO03t21xhdk - String Theory Iceberg [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X4PdPnQuwjY - Felix Finster [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fXzO_KAqrh0 - Jonathan Oppenheim [TOE]: https://youtu.be/6Z_p3viqW1g - Ted Jacobson [TOE]: https://youtu.be/3mhctWlXyV8 - Jacob Barandes [TOE]: https://youtu.be/wrUvtqr4wOs - Tim Maudlin [TOE]: https://youtu.be/fU1bs5o3nss - Bertlemann’s Socks And The Nature Of Reality [Paper]: https://cds.cern.ch/record/142461/files/198009299.pdf - Perimeter Institute: https://perimeterinstitute.ca/ - Alice Falls Into A Black Hole [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0410172 - Observer Dependent Entanglement [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1210.2223 - Frederic Schuller [TOE]: https://youtu.be/Bnh-UNrxYZg - Vacuum Induced Spin-1/2 Berry Phase [Paper]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/quant-ph/0202128

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