Relational interpretation of the wave function and a possible way around Bell's theorem
Abstract
The famous ``spooky action at a distance'' in the EPR-szenario is shown to be a local interaction, once entanglement is interpreted as a kind of ``nearest neighbor'' relation among quantum systems. Furthermore, the wave function itself is interpreted as encoding the ``nearest neighbor'' relations between a quantum system and spatial points. This interpretation becomes natural, if we view space and distance in terms of relations among spatial points. Therefore, ``position'' becomes a purely relational concept. This relational picture leads to a new perspective onto the quantum mechanical formalism, where many of the ``weird'' aspects, like the particle-wave duality, the non-locality of entanglement, or the ``mystery'' of the double-slit experiment, disappear. Furthermore, this picture cirumvents the restrictions set by Bell's inequalities, i.e., a possible (realistic) hidden variable theory based on these concepts can be local and at the same time reproduce the results of quantum mechanics.
Cite
@article{arxiv.quant-ph/0602060,
title = {Relational interpretation of the wave function and a possible way around Bell's theorem},
author = {Thomas Filk},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/0602060},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
Accepted for publication in "International Journal of Theoretical Physics"