Related papers: The Gibbs Paradox Revisited
Despite being the most fundamental object in quantum theory, physicists are yet to reach a consensus on the interpretation of a quantum wavefunction. In the broad class of realist approaches, quantum states are viewed as Liouville-like…
Classical linear wave superposition produces the appearance of interference. This observation can be interpreted in two equivalent ways: one can assume that interference is an illusion because input components remain unperturbed, or that…
Quantum mechanics is a theory that is as effective as it is counterintuitive. While quantum practices operate impeccably, they compel us to embrace enigmatic phenomena like the collapse of the state vector and non-locality, thereby pushing…
We consider the Statistical Mechanics of systems of particles satisfying the $q$-commutation relations recently proposed by Greenberg and others. We show that although the commutation relations approach Bose (resp.\ Fermi) relations for…
Classical and quantum physics represent two distinct theories; however, quantum physics is regarded as the more fundamental of the two. It is posited that classical mechanics should arise from quantum mechanics under certain limiting…
Incompatibility between conjugate variables and complementary pictures comes in two kinds, exclusive of one another. The first kind is unconditional, and the second conditional on quantum's indivisibility. We employ this distinction to…
How can quantum mechanics be (i) the fundamental theoretical framework of contemporary physics and (ii) a probability calculus that presupposes the events to which, and on the basis of which, it assigns probabilities? The question is…
The hidden-variables premise is shown to be equivalent to the existence of generic filters for algebras of commuting propositions and for certain more general propositional systems. The significance of this equivalence is interpreted in…
Years ago, Itamar Pitowski asked two relevant questions: Why microphysical (quantum) phenomena and classical phenomena differ in the way they do? and, what kind of explanation could qualify as a reasonable one? I argue that both questions…
In quantum theory, particles in three spatial dimensions come in two different types: bosons or fermions, which exhibit sharply contrasting behaviours due to their different exchange statistics. Could more general forms of probabilistic…
I address the problem of explaining why wave functions for identical particles must be either symmetric or antisymmetric (the symmetry dichotomy) within two interpretations of quantum mechanics which include particles following definite…
There has been an upsurge of interest in the consequences for quantum physics of the so-called Wigner's Friend Paradox. In its original formulation, the paradox has been turned inside out, and virtually every aspect of it has been looked…
The spectacular successes of quantum physics have made it a commonplace to assert that we live in a quantum world. This idea seems to imply a kind of "quantum fundamentalism" according to which everything in the universe (if not the…
This paper presents an elementary introduction to Consistent Quantum Theory (CQT), as developed by Griffiths and others over the past 25 years. The theory is a version of orthodox(Copenhagen) quantum mechanics, based on the notion that the…
Quantum entanglement of identical particles is essential in quantum information theory. Yet, its correct determination remains an open issue hindering the general understanding and exploitation of many-particle systems. Operator-based…
In his Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances Gibbs seems to suggest that the chemical potential of a crystal nucleus need not be equal to that of the coexisting fluid. In the field, Gibbs's statement has been something of a hot potato. I…
To understand the foundations of quantum mechanics, we have to think carefully about how theoretical concepts are rooted in -- and limited by -- the nature of experience, as Bohr attempted to show. Geometrical pictures of physical phenomena…
A tradition handed down among physicists maintains that classical physics is a perfectly deterministic theory capable of predicting the future with absolute certainty, independently of any interpretations. It also tells that it was quantum…
It was shown recently that entanglement of identical particles has a feature called dualism [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 140404 (2013)], which is fundamentally connected with quantum indistinguishability. Here we report an experiment that…
Recently, three experiments have been proposed in order to show that the standard and Bohmian quantum mechanics can have different predictions at the individual level of particles. However, these thought experiments have encountered some…