Related papers: Mathematical vs Empirical Measurement
The entangled "measurement state" (MS), predicted by von Neumann to arise during quantum measurement, seems to display paradoxical properties such as multiple macroscopic outcomes. But analysis of interferometry experiments using entangled…
The act of measurement on a quantum state is supposed to "collapse" the state into one of several eigenstates of the operator corresponding to the observable being measured. This measurement process is sometimes described as outside…
Two fundamental, and unsolved problems in physics are: i) the resolution of the "measurement problem" in quantum mechanics ii) the quantization of strongly nonlinear (nonabelian) gauge theories. The aim of this paper is to suggest that…
I discuss some problems related to extreme mathematical realism, focusing on a recently proposed "shut-up-and-calculate" approach to physics (arXiv:0704.0646, arXiv:0709.4024). I offer arguments for a moderate alternative, the essence of…
Because quantum measurements have probabilistic outcomes they can seem to violate conservation laws in individual experiments. Despite these appearances, strict conservation of momentum, orbital angular momentum, and energy can be shown to…
Classically, wave interference is a phenomenon that can be explained by considering only the waves themselves, that is, without the need to consider the apparatus that monitors or observes them. Thus, in classical theories, interference can…
The evaluation of uncertainties in quantum measurements is problematic since the correct value of an observable between state preparation and measurement is experimentally inaccessible. In Ozawa's formulation of uncertainty relations for…
A new, realist interpretation of the quantum measurement processes is given. In this scenario a quantum measurement is a non-equilibrium phase transition in a ``resonant cavity'' formed by the entire physical universe including all its…
It is argued that Feynman's rules for evaluating probabilities, combined with von Neumann's principle of psycho-physical parallelism, help avoid inconsistencies, often associated with quantum theory. The former allows one to assign…
The paper has been withdrawn.
Quantum theory depends on an external classical time, and there ought to exist an equivalent reformulation of the theory which does not depend on such a time. The demand for the existence of such a reformulation suggests that quantum theory…
Using a simple version of the model for the quantum measurement of a two level system, the contention of Aharonov, Anandan, and Vaidman that one must in certain circumstances give the wavefunction an ontological as well as an…
Wolfram's hypergraph dynamics should replace outmoded models in physics. This should even more so be the case if experimental evidence for the theory is found (which I believe is probable). However, due to the breadth and depth of the…
Several new physics experiments in 1998 were performed and analyzed to show the subtlety of quantum theory, including the "wave-particle duality" and the non-separability of two-particle entangled state. Here it is shown that the…
We provide an introduction to the theory of quantum measurements that is centered on the pivotal role played by John von Neumann's model. This introduction is accessible to students and researchers from outside the field of foundations of…
Although quantum mechanics is one of our most successful physical theories, there has been a long-standing debate about the interpretation of the wave function---the central object of the theory. Two prominent views are that (i) it…
This chapter reexamines wave function realism (WFR) through the lens of phenomenology. We begin by situating WFR within the broader debate about the ontology of the quantum state and the temptation to "read off" metaphysics from…
Quantum interference phenomena are widely viewed as posing a challenge to the classical worldview. Feynman even went so far as to proclaim that they are the only mystery and the basic peculiarity of quantum mechanics. Many have also argued…
Experimental evidene of the last decades has made the status of "collapses of the wave function" even more shaky than it already was on conceptual grounds: interference effects turn out to be detectable even when collapses are typically…
The possibility of consistency between the basic quantum principles and reduction (wave function reduction) is reexamined. The mathematical description of an organized macroscopic device is constructed explicitly as a convenient tool for…