Related papers: On the Reality of the Wavefunction
The meaning of the wave function has been a hot topic of debate since the early days of quantum mechanics. Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in this long-standing question. Is the wave function ontic, directly representing a…
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…
The main claim of the paper is that one can be 'realist' (in some sense) about quantum mechanics without requiring any form of realism about the wave function. We begin by discussing various forms of realism about the wave function, namely…
$\psi$-epistemic interpretations of quantum theory maintain that quantum states only represent incomplete information about the physical states of the world. A major motivation for this view is the promise to provide a reasonable account of…
$\Psi$-epistemic models of quantum mechanics imply that the quantum state does not correspond to physical reality, but instead reflects the observer's knowledge of the underlying quantum system. The epistemic view of the quantum state has…
The ontic breakthrough in quantum foundations, consisting of three theo- rems, that of Pusey, Barrett, and Rudolph (PBR), the Colbeck-Renner one, and Hardy's one, is shortly presented, together with various reactions. Some of the ideas…
Within the class of ontological interpretations of quantum theory where a physical system comprises a particle and a field (wavefunction) guiding it, an empty wave is a segment of the wavefunction not containing the particle. We examine the…
In this paper, we explore realist models of quantum theory that does not fit into the standard definitions of ontological models. The models here go beyond standard definition of ontological models in the sense that quantum states do not…
The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of the new theorem by Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph (PBR) concerning ontic and epistemic hidden variables in quantum mechanics [Nature Phys. 8, 476 (2012)]. This is a kind of review and defense…
The ontological models framework distinguishes $\psi$-ontic from $\psi$-epistemic wavefunctions. It is, in general, quite straightforward to categorize the wave-function of a certain quantum theory. Nevertheless, there has been a debate…
One of the major concerns of Schr\"odinger, Lorentz, Einstein, and many others about the wave function is that it is defined on the $3\mathbf{N}$-dimensional configuration space, rather than on the $3$-dimensional physical space. This gives…
Given an ontological model of a quantum system, a "genuine measurement," as opposed to a quantum measurement, means an experiment that determines the value of a beable, i.e., of a variable that, according to the model, has an actual value…
Since the discovery of quantum mechanics, the fact that the wavefunction is defined on the $3\mathbf{n}$-dimensional configuration space rather than on the $3$-dimensional space has seemed uncanny to many, including Schr\"odinger, Lorentz,…
In a recent paper, Cabbolet argues that the PBR theorem is nonreal since in the ensemble interpretation of quantum mechanics the entangled measurement used in the derivation of the PBR theorem is nonexisting. However, Cabbolet (1) doesn't…
In the first part of the paper I argue that an ontology of events is precise, flexible and general enough so as to cover the three main alternative formulations of quantum mechanics as well as theories advocating an antirealistic view of…
In the well known Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum mechanics, advocated by N. Bohr, the physical objects and the experimental results can be described only in a macroscopic language, leaving any possible microscopic description as…
The Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph (PBR) no-go theorem provides an argument for the reality of the quantum state by ruling out {\psi}-epistemic ontological theories, in which the quantum state is of a statistical nature. It applies under an…
Towards the end of 2011, Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph derived a theorem that aimed to show that the quantum state must be ontic (a state of reality) in a broad class of realist approaches to quantum theory. This result attracted a lot of…
Wave functions live on configuration space. Schrodinger called this entanglement. The linearity of the Schrodinger equation prevents the wave function from representing reality. If the equation were non-linear (e.g., reduction models) the…
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…