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A goal of most interpretations of quantum mechanics is to avoid the apparent intrusion of the observer into the measurement process. Such intrusion is usually seen to arise because observation somehow selects a single actuality from among…
A new ontological view of the quantum measurement processes is given, which has bearings on many broader issues in the foundations of quantum mechanics as well. In this scenario a quantum measurement is a non-equilibrium phase transition in…
We argue that quantum mechanics makes sense without such controversial postulates as the wave function collapse, the quantum probability rule and the observable postulate. We only need the existence of a wave function as a representation of…
What is the quantum system? Consider the wavefunction of the electron, what we call single particle wave-function and assume that it contains N wave packets. If we pass all the wave packets through an electric field, all are deflected, as…
The wave function in quantum mechanics presents an interesting challenge to our understanding of the physical world. In this paper, I show that the wave function can be understood as four intrinsic relations on physical space. My account…
We review and expand on recent advances in theory and experiments concerning the problem of wavefunction uncollapse: Given an unknown state that has been disturbed by a generalized measurement, restore the state to its initial…
It is shown that within a quantum system, the wave field has a (potential) energy content that can be exchanged with quantum particles. Energy conservation in quantum systems holds if potential energy is correctly taken to be a field…
Is the wave function a physical reality traveling through our apparatus? Is it a real wave, or it is only a mathematical tool for calculating probabilities of results of measurements? Different interpretations of the quantum mechanics (QM)…
Pilot wave theory endows particles with definite positions at all times governed by deterministic dynamics. However, individual particle trajectories are generically undetectable by experiment. This idea might seem to be contested in light…
It has been widely thought that the wave function describes a real, physical field in a realist interpretation of quantum mechanics. In this paper, I present a new analysis of the field ontology for the wave function. First, I argue that…
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…
A collapse-free version of quantum theory is examined to systematically study the role of the projection postulate. This foil theory assumes "passive" measurements that do not update quantum states although measurement outcomes still occur…
This paper presents an alternative quantum theory, the Theory of Discrete Extension, which avoids many of the conceptual problems of standard quantum mechanics. It is a deterministic, dynamic collapse theory with a well-defined primitive…
In QBism the wave function does not represent an element of physical reality external to the agent, but represent an agent's personal probability assignments, reflecting his subjective degrees of belief about the future content of his…
In this short communication, I gave a generalization of measurement postulate in quantum mechanics. It is regarding the case with partial measurement, namely, measurement on only part of a wave function. Upon a partial measurement, the…
The most puzzling issue in the foundations of quantum mechanics is perhaps that of the status of the wave function of a system in a quantum universe. Is the wave function objective or subjective? Does it represent the physical state of the…
What ontology does realism about the quantum state suggest? The main extant view in contemporary philosophy of physics is wave-function realism. We elaborate the sense in which wave-function realism does provide an ontological picture; and…
A textbook interpretation of quantum physics is that quantum objects can be described in a particle or a wave picture, depending on the operations and measurements performed. Beyond this widely held believe, we demonstrate in this…
An experiment that would measure non--commuting quantum mechanical observables without collapsing the wave function has been recently proposed by Y Aharonov and J Anandan. These authors argue that this "protected measurement" may give…
This paper focuses on a constructive treatment of the mathematical formalism of quantum theory and a possible role of constructivist philosophy in resolving the foundational problems of quantum mechanics, particularly, the controversy over…