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Related papers: The Problem of the Observer in Physics

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The paper puts forward a conceptual framework in which the phenomenon of time can be presented and discussed in a proper way. We argue that change is ontologically and epistemologically a more basic phenomenon than time. Time is an abstract…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2015-09-07 Mario Radovan

This paper addresses the following main question: Do we have a theoretical understanding of entanglement applicable to a full variety of physical settings? It is clear that not only the assumption of distinguishability, but also the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Gerardo Ortiz , Rolando Somma , Howard Barnum , Emanuel Knill , Lorenza Viola

The notorious `measurement problem' has been roving around quantum mechanics for nearly a century since its inception, and has given rise to a variety of `interpretations' of quantum mechanics, which are meant to evade it. We argue that no…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-06-13 F. A. Muller

Gao (2017) presents a new mentalistic reformulation of the well-known measurement problem affecting the standard formulation of quantum mechanics. According to this author, it is essentially a determinate-experience problem, namely a…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2019-01-17 Andrea Oldofredi

We motivate and construct a mathematical theory for the separation of space and time in general relativity. The formalism only requires a single observer and an optional choice of reference frame at each instant. As the splitting is done…

Mathematical Physics · Physics 2018-02-15 Maik Reddiger

We reconsider a well known problem of quantum theory, i.e. the so called measurement (or macro-objectification) problem, and we rederive the fact that it gives rise to serious problems of interpretation. The novelty of our approach derives…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2009-11-06 Angelo Bassi , GianCarlo Ghirardi

The von Neumann attitude on such a deep interpretational question as the role of a human observer in order for the quantum description of measurement to be consistent has been long misrepresented. The large majority of the subsequent…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2025-08-25 Federico Laudisa

We offer a fresh perspective on the relational interpretation of quantum mechanics as a way of thinking about the world described by quantum theory based on quantifiable notions of information. This allows us to provide a definition of a…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-02-10 Andrea Di Biagio , Carlo Rovelli

Heisenberg's intuition was that there should be a tradeoff between measuring a particle's position with greater precision and disturbing its momentum. Recent formulations of this idea have focused on the question of how well two…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-07-31 Patrick J. Coles , Fabian Furrer

Two theorems with applications to the quantum theory of measurements are stated and proven. The first one clarifies and amends von Neumann's Measurement Postulate used in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The second one…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-12-04 Simone Del Vecchio , Jürg Fröhlich , Alessandro Pizzo , Alessio Ranallo

In his last article "Against `Measurement'" J. S. Bell sums up his well known critique of the problem of explaining the measurement process within the framework of quantum theory. In this article I will discuss the measurement process by…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2008-02-03 Holger Lyre

Quantum measurement is a fundamental concept in the field of quantum mechanics. The action of quantum measurement, leading the superposition state of the measured quantum system into a definite output state, not only reconciles…

General Physics · Physics 2024-08-13 Wei Wen

Measurements are ordinarily described with respect to absolute "Newtonian" time. In reality however, the switching-on of the measuring device at the instance of the measurement requires a timing device. Hence the classical time $t$ must be…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2009-10-31 Aharon Casher , Benni Reznik

This paper discusses a possible resolution of the nonobjectivity-nonlocality dilemma in quantum mechanics in 'the light of experimental tests of the Bell inequality for two entangled photons and a Bell-like inequality for a single neutron.…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-03-30 Andrei Khrennikov

From the premise that an observable is real after it is measured, we envisage a tomography-based protocol that allows us to propose a quantifier for the degree of indefiniteness of an observable given a quantum state. Then, we find that the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-12-08 A. L. O. Bilobran , R. M. Angelo

Can normal science-in the Kuhnian sense-add something substantial to the discussion about the measurement problem? Does an extended Wigner's-friend Gedankenexperiment illustrate new issues? Or a new quality of known issues? Are we led to…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2019-05-02 Arne Hansen , Stefan Wolf

The measurement problem is seen as an ambiguity of quantum mechanics, or, beyond that, as a contradiction within the theory: Quantum mechanics offers two conflicting descriptions of the Wigner's-friend experiment. As we argue in this note…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2019-12-09 Arne Hansen , Stefan Wolf

I will propose that the reality to which the quantum formalism implicitly refers is a kind of generalized history, the word history having here the same meaning as in the phrase sum-over-histories. This proposal confers a certain…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-04-09 Rafael D. Sorkin

A generalized framework is developed which uses a set description instead of wavefunction to emphasize the role of the observer. Such a framework is found to be very effective in the study of the measurement problem and time's arrow.…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Zhen Wang

The paper gives a systematic review of the basic ideas of (non-relativistic) quantum mechanics including all changes that result from previous work of the authors. This shows that the new theory is self-consistent and (in certain sense)…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2011-02-24 Petr Hajicek , Jiri Tolar