Grenoble, France, June 22-26, 2026
Understanding causality is foundational to science and has wide-ranging applications, yet there are several distinct notions of causation. Recently, there have been important developments on the role of causality in quantum physics, relativistic physics and their interplay. These have unearthed a plethora of deep and fascinating questions regarding the nature of causation in physical theories, emergence of space-time structure and how relativistic principles can shape the landscape of quantum information processing. At the same time, causal reasoning is central in classical statistics, and has become a crucial tool in machine learning, with applications ranging from big data to healthcare. The interface between classical and quantum causality has also been crucial for identifying when and how quantum theory can surpass classical models in information processing. Causalworlds aims to bring together researchers from different areas of physics, computer science, mathematics and philosophy working on such questions related to causality, both from fundamental and applied perspectives, to provide a venue for cross-pollination of ideas and techniques across these disciplines and consolidate efforts towards a more unified understanding of causation.
The scope of the conference includes (but is not limited to):
- Quantum and classical causal inference and causal models
- The role of causal structure in information processing
- Indefinite causality and quantum reference frames
- Cyclic causality and time symmetry
- Causality in quantum field theory and quantum gravity
- Experiments in causality and applications
Important dates
- Paper submission deadline: Feb 20, 2026
- Paper notification: Late March, 2026
- Registration deadline: TBC
- Conference: June 22-26, 2026
All deadlines are stated with respect to the Anywhere on Earth (AoE) time zone.
Submission Guidelines
We invite submissions of papers for talks and/or posters. Submissions for a talk will automatically be considered for a poster if not accepted for a talk.
- Talk: Submission will consist of a 3 page (excluding references) extended abstract, together with a link to the full paper (published or preprint) or a draft of the manuscript if not yet publicly available.
- Poster: Submission will consist of a short plaintext abstract. Work in progress is welcome.
Submissions will be considered via EasyChair: https://easychair.org/conferences?conf=cw2026
Invited Speakers
- Emily Adlam (Chapman University)
- Sougato Bose (University College London)
- Fabio Costa (Nordita, Stockholm University)
- Eric Gaussier (LIG)
- Lee Rozema (University of Vienna)
- Mirjam Weilenmann (Inria Saclay, Télécom Paris)
- Mark Wilde (Cornell University)
and more to be announced soon.
Organising Committee
- Alastair Abbott (Inria)
- Sophie Bigourden (Inria; administrative support)
- Cyril Branciard (Institut Néel)
- Mehdi Mhalla (LIG)
- Kuntal Sengupta (Institut Néel)
- V. Vilasini (Inria)
Programme Committee
- Alastair Abbott (Inria) [PC co-chair]
- Charis Anastopolous (University of Patras)
- Cyril Branciard (Institut Néel)
- Lin-Qing Chen (IQOQI Vienna)
- Giulio Chiribella (University of Hong Kong)
- Emilie Devijver (LIG)
- Alexei Grinbaum (CEA Saclay)
- Anne-Catherine de la Hamette (ETH Zürich)
- Hlér Kristjánsson (Université de Montréal & Mila)
- Ravi Kunjwal (Aix-Marseille Université)
- Robin Lorenz (Quantinuum)
- Tein van der Lugt (Perimeter Institute)
- Mehdi Mhalla (LIG)
- Marco-Túlio Quintino (Sorbonne University)
- Marc-Olivier Renou (Inria Saclay)
- Giulia Rubino (University of Bristol)
- Kuntal Sengupta (Institut Néel)
- Sally Shrapnel (University of Queensland)
- Augustin Vanrietvelde (Télécom Paris)
- Rainer Verch (University of Leipzig)
- V. Vilasini (Inria)
- Matthew Wilson (Centrale Supélec)
- Elie Wolfe (Perimeter Institute) [PC co-chair]
The PC will be finalised with further members shortly.