My research intertwines philosophy of physics, general philosophy of science, and metaphysics of science. I’m mainly focused on four research areas.
[1] Inter-theory relations in science: I’m interested in understanding how scientific theories are related and what the best way is to model relations of reduction and emergence in science, especially in physics. I'm particularly focused on functionalism and functional reduction and have worked on developing these notions in the philosophy of science [SEP]. Functional reduction offers a fruitful framework for understanding reduction across various contexts, including thermodynamics, classical mechanics, and biochemical entities. More broadly, I’m interested in the notions of scales and levels of reality and the link between the ontologies of theories valid in different regimes, in the concepts of effective theory and effective realism, and in limiting reduction in physics.
[2] Thermodynamics and statistical physics: I'm interested in the foundations of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, especially the applicability of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics to unconventional domains, such as gravitating systems like globular clusters of stars. These theories help us understand the behaviour of these systems, but the standard application of concepts like equilibrium is problematic. Probing the physics of these atypical systems leads us to reconsider the very foundations of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.
[3] Spacetime theories: As part of SNF’s “Temporal Existence” project, my work addresses the structure of spacetime theories, particularly the metaphysics of space and time, examining both classical settings (e.g. Newton-Cartan theory) and relativistic and cosmological contexts. I focus especially on the relations between space, time, and spacetime, with particular attention to what physics reveals about simultaneity and the unification of space and time into spacetime.
[4] Quantum mechanics: I work on various topics within the ontology of quantum mechanics, particularly on the physical meaning of the quantum wavefunction. I explored the latter topic in the context of collapse theories and Bohmian mechanics, worked on the application of Ontic Structural Realism to quantum mechanics, and developed a functionalist account to recover three-dimensional objects from the quantum wavefunction.