Related papers: Demystifying the Delayed Choice Experiments
The consistent histories formulation of the quantum theory of a closed system with pure initial state defines an infinite number of incompatible consistent sets, each of which gives a possible description of the physics. We investigate the…
This paper contributes to a burgeoning area of investigation, the ambiguity inherent in mathematics and the implications for physics of this ambiguity. To display the mathematical form of equations of quantum theory used to describe…
Many theoretical predictions derived from quantum mechanics have been confirmed experimentally during the last 80 years. However, interpretative aspects have long been subject to debate. Among them, the question of the existence of hidden…
An approach is presented treating decision theory as a probabilistic theory based on quantum techniques. Accurate definitions are given and thorough analysis is accomplished for the quantum probabilities describing the choice between…
The problem of how to interpret quantum mechanics has persisted for a century. The disconnect between the wavefunction state vector and what is observed in experimental apparati has had no shortage of explanations. But all explanations so…
An expression is proposed for the quantum mechanical state of a pre- and post-selected ensemble, which is an ensemble determined by the final as well as the initial state of the quantum systems involved. It is shown that the probabilities…
In the past decade, the toolkit of quantum information has been expanded to include processes in which the basic operations do not have definite causal relations. Originally considered in the context of the unification of quantum mechanics…
Optical experiments designed to explore quantum complementarity are reanalyzed. It is argued that, for each, a classical explanation is not only possible, but more coherent and less contrived. The final conclusion is that these experiments…
Recent experiments (gedanken or otherwise) and theorems in quantum mechanics (QM), such as new iterations on Wigner's friend and delayed choice, have led many people to claim that QM is not compatible with determinate and intersubjectively…
We consider quantum systems in entangled states post-selected in non-entangled states. Such systems exhibit unusual behavior, in particular when weak measurements are performed at intermediate times.
Many seemingly paradoxical effects are known in the predictions for outcomes of measurements made on pre- and post-selected quantum systems. A class of such effects, which we call ``logical pre- and post-selection paradoxes'', bear a…
In quantum mechanics, the wavefunction predicts probabilities of possible measurement outcomes, but not which individual outcome is realised in each run of an experiment. This suggests that it describes an ensemble of states with different…
Quantum mechanics led to spectacular technological developments, discovery of new constituents of matter and new materials. However there is still no consensus on its interpretation and limitations. Some scientists and scientific writers…
A large literature has grown up around the proposed use of 'weak measurements' (i.e., unsharp measurements followed by post-selection) to allegedly provide information about hidden ontological features of quantum systems. This paper…
This paper reports a "delayed choice quantum eraser" experiment proposed by Scully and Dr\"{u}hl in 1982. The experimental results demonstrated the possibility of simultaneously observing both particle-like and wave-like behavior of a…
There are good motivations for considering some type of quantum histories formalism. Several possible formalisms are known, defined by different definitions of event and by different selection criteria for sets of histories. These…
This paper clarifies the picture about Dense-choice Counter Machines, which have been less studied than (discrete) Counter Machines. We revisit the definition of "Dense Counter Machines" so that it now extends (discrete) Counter Machines,…
Gedankenexperiments have consistently played a major role in the development of quantum theory. A paradigmatic example is Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment, a wave-particle duality test that cannot be fully understood using only classical…
Two alternative interpretations of the quantum collapse are proposed: a time-ordered and a timeless one. The time-ordered interpretation implies that the speed of light can be defined in an absolute way, while the timeless quantum collapse…
It is argued that the nature of probability is essentially informational rather than physical and that quantum mechanical predictions should be viewed as logical inferences made on the basis of the information content of a given…