English

Relational Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Physics 2009-10-30 v2 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology High Energy Physics - Theory

Abstract

I suggest that the common unease with taking quantum mechanics as a fundamental description of nature (the "measurement problem") could derive from the use of an incorrect notion, as the unease with the Lorentz transformations before Einstein derived from the notion of observer-independent time. I suggest that this incorrect notion is the notion of observer-independent state of a system (or observer-independent values of physical quantities). I reformulate the problem of the "interpretation of quantum mechanics" as the problem of deriving the formalism from a few simple physical postulates. I consider a reformulation of quantum mechanics in terms of information theory. All systems are assumed to be equivalent, there is no observer-observed distinction, and the theory describes only the information that systems have about each other; nevertheless, the theory is complete.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.quant-ph/9609002,
  title  = {Relational Quantum Mechanics},
  author = {Carlo Rovelli},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/9609002},
  year   = {2009}
}

Comments

Substantially revised version. LaTeX file