Related papers: Indistinguishability
In this paper of "The Epistemology of Contemporary Physics" series we investigate Newton's third law and discuss and analyze its epistemological significance from some aspects with special attention to its relation to the principle of…
It is shown that quantum systems of identical particles can be treated as if they were different when they are in well differentiated states. This simplifying assumption allows the consideration of quantum systems isolated from the rest of…
Based on an intuitive generalization of the Leibniz principle of `the identity of indiscernibles', we introduce a novel ontological notion of classicality, called bounded ontological distinctness. Formulated as a principle, bounded…
In spite of its popularity, it has not been possible to vindicate the conventional wisdom that classical mechanics is a limiting case of quantum mechanics. The purpose of the present paper is to offer an alternative point of view in which…
Quantum mechanics---the theory describing the fundamental workings of nature---is famously counterintuitive: it predicts that a particle can be in two places at the same time, and that two remote particles can be inextricably and…
It is argued that setting isolated systems as primary scope of field theory and looking at particles as derived entities, the problem of an objective anchorage of quantum mechanics can be solved and irreversibility acquires a fundamental…
We elaborate on the existing notion that quantum mechanics is an emergent phenomenon, by presenting a thermodynamical theory that is dual to quantum mechanics. This dual theory is that of classical irreversible thermodynamics. The linear…
An indeterministic interpretation of classical physics has been proposed recently, in which the argument relies on attacking an alleged unwarranted metaphysical hidden assumption of the standard deterministic interpretation. This short…
This paper is a review of our recent work on three notorious problems of non-relativistic quantum mechanics: realist interpretation, quantum theory of classical properties and the problem of quantum measurement. A considerable progress has…
Although cosmic expansion at very small distances is usually dismissed as entirely inconsequential, it appears that these extraordinarily small effects may in fact have a real and significant influence on our world. Calculations suggest…
A brief philosophical inquiry into the foundations of quantum mechanics is presented here. In particular, the direct relationship between granularity, discontinuity, and the presence of quantum effects will be argued. Furthermore, an…
The purpose of this article is to provide a novel approach and justification of the idea that classical physics and quantum physics can neither function nor even be conceived one without the other - in line with ideas attributed to e.g.…
Quantum mechanics, one of the most successful theories in the history of science, was created to account for physical systems not describable by classical physics. Though it is consistent with all experiments conducted thus far, many of its…
We connect two key concepts in quantum information: compatibility and divisibility of quantum channels. Two channels are compatible if they can be both obtained via marginalization from a third channel. A channel divides another channel if…
We consider the possibility that all particles in the world are fundamentally identical, i.e., belong to the same species. Different masses, charges, spins, flavors, or colors then merely correspond to different quantum states of the same…
Using tools from quantum information theory, we present a general theory of indistinguishability of identical bosons in experiments consisting of passive linear optics followed by particle number detection. Our results do neither rely on…
Unlike in the case of distinguishable particles, the concept of entanglement-- not to mention, nonlocality-- remains debated in case of indistinguishable particles. Here, we show that certain existing all-versus-nothing type of proofs of…
We suggest a somewhat non-standard view on a set of curious, paradoxical from the standpoint of simple classical physics and everyday experience phenomena. There are the quantisation (discrete set of values) of the observables (e.g.,…
We review how antiparticles may be introduced in classical relativistic mechanics, and emphasize that many of their paradoxical properties can be more transparently understood in the classical than in the quantum domain.
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…