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Explore an innovative approach to algebraic quantum field theory through the lens of David Lynch's Mulholland Drive in this 49-minute Oxford seminar. Discover how the film's fragmented narrative structure serves as a metaphorical framework for constructing quantum field theory using double functors between free globularly generated double categories. Learn to define a double category of spacetime regions where vertical morphisms represent inclusions, horizontal morphisms are causal maps, and squares ensure compatibility between both structures. Examine Juan Orendain's double category of von Neumann algebras and bimodules through a general construction from decorated bicategories, resulting in a functor that captures how observables evolve and embed across spacetime in ways traditional approaches cannot cleanly separate. Investigate how gluing and locality can be modeled within this mathematical framework, using the storyline of Mulholland Drive to guide intuition from fragments of time and overlapping realities to new understandings of field theory concepts. Engage with this unique intersection of cinema, mathematics, and physics that requires no background in physics—only curiosity and willingness to follow a narrative where appearances can be deceiving.
