Three attempts at two axioms for quantum mechanics
Abstract
The axioms of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics lack clear physical meaning. In particular, they say nothing about nonlocality. Yet quantum mechanics is not only nonlocal, it is twice nonlocal: there are nonlocal quantum correlations, and there is the Aharonov-Bohm effect, which implies that an electric or magnetic field h e r e may act on an electron t h e r e. Can we invert the logical hierarchy? That is, can we adopt nonlocality as an axiom for quantum mechanics and derive quantum mechanics from this axiom and an additional axiom of causality? Three versions of these two axioms lead to three different theories, characterized by "maximal nonlocal correlations", "jamming" and "modular energy". Where is quantum mechanics in these theories?
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1011.5322,
title = {Three attempts at two axioms for quantum mechanics},
author = {Daniel Rohrlich},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1011.5322},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
to appear in Probability in Physics, dedicated to the memory of Prof. Itamar Pitowsky, eds. Y. Ben-Menahem and M. Hemmo, Springer, Frontiers Collection, in press