Related papers: On Formalisms and Interpretations
In this paper we present the two-state vector formalism of quantum mechanics. It is a time-symmetrized approach to standard quantum theory particularly helpful for the analysis of experiments performed on pre- and post-selected ensembles.…
One hundred years after the creation of quantum theory, there is no consensus on the kind of reality that is described by the theory. Here, I attribute the lack of progress to the prevailing interpretative methodology, which invariably…
The standard postulates of quantum theory can be divided into two groups: the first one characterizes the structure and dynamics of pure states, while the second one specifies the structure of measurements and the corresponding…
We showed in a recent article (Lawrence et. al., 2023, Quantum 7, 1015), that relative facts (outcomes), a central concept in Relational Quantum Mechanics, are inconsistent with Quantum Mechanics. We proved this by constructing a…
According to QBism, quantum states, unitary evolutions, and measurement operators are all understood as personal judgments of the agent using the formalism. Meanwhile, quantum measurement outcomes are understood as the personal experiences…
In the present article we use the quantum formalism to describe the process of choice under rational ignorance. We consider as a basic task a question or an issue where the only answers are 0 and 1. We show that under rational ignorance the…
The thought experiment called Wigner's Friend has experienced a renewal of interest for interrogating the meaning of intersubjectivity and objectivity in quantum mechanics. These new inquiries extend to investigations at the intersection of…
We argue about a conceptual approach to quantum formalism. Starting from philosophical conjectures (Platonism, Idealism and Realism) as basic ontic elements (namely: math world, data world, and state of matter), we will analyze the quantum…
This paper gives a thorough critique of the foundations of quantum physics in its mainstream interpretation (i.e., treating pure states as primitives, without reference to hidden variables, and without modifications of the quantum laws).…
Feynman path integrals formalism for non-relativistic quantum mechanics is revisited. A comparison is made with the cases of light progagation (Huygens principle) and Brownian motion. The difficulties for a physical model behind Feynman…
The Born postulate can be reduced to its deterministic content that only applies to eigenvectors of observables: the standard probabilistic interpretation of generic states then follows from algebraic properties of repeated measurements and…
In a companion paper (hereafter referred to as Paper I), we have presented an attempt to derive the finite-dimensional abstract quantum formalism from a set of physically comprehensible assumptions. In this paper, we formulate a…
Wigner-friend scenarios -- in which external agents describe a closed laboratory containing a friend making a measurement -- highlight the difficulties inherent to quantum theory when accounting for measurements. In non-relativistic…
The Two-State-Vector formalism and the Entangled Histories formalism are attempts to better understand quantum correlations in time. The main objective of this paper is to show that, with appropriately defined scalar products, both…
Difficulties and discomfort with the interpretation of quantum mechanics are due to differences in language between it and classical physics. Analogies to The Special Theory of Relativity, which also required changes in the basic worldview…
Relations and isomorphisms between quantum field theories in operator and functional integral formalisms are analyzed from the viewpoint of inequivalent representations of commutator or anticommutator rings of field operators. A functional…
Theories of natural language and concepts have been unable to model the flexibility, creativity, context-dependence, and emergence, exhibited by words, concepts and their combinations. The mathematical formalism of quantum theory has…
Quantum theory in its conventional formulation is notoriously subject to various measurement-related paradoxes, as exemplified by the "Schrodinger's Cat" and "Wigner's Friend" thought experiments. It has been shown, for example by…
Wigner's friend experiment and its modern extensions display the ambiguity of the quantum mechanical description regarding the assignment of quantum states. While the friend applies the state-update rule to the system upon observing an…
To apply the abstract quantum formalism to a particular physical system, one must specify the precise form of the relevant measurement and symmetry transformation operators. These operators are determined by a set of rules, the…