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The idea that the wave function represents information, or knowledge, rather than the state of a microscopic object has been held to solve foundational problems of quantum mechanics. Realist interpretation schemes, like Bohmian…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2009-11-11 Louis Marchildon

Status of quantum wavefunction is one of the most debated issues in quantum foundations -- whether it corresponds directly to the reality or just represents knowledge or information about some aspect of reality. In this letter we propose a…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-09-01 Anandamay Das Bhowmik , Preeti Parashar , Manik Banik

Schroedinger's wave function shows many aspects of a state of incomplete knowledge or information ("bit"): (1) it is usually defined on a space of classical configurations, (2) its generic entanglement is, therefore, analogous to…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 H. D. Zeh

It is proved the mathematical theorem, that the wave function describes the statistical ensemble of particles, but not a single particle. Supposition, that the wave function describes a single particle appears to be incompatible with…

General Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Yuri Rylov

The meaning of the wave function is an important unresolved issue in Bohmian mechanics. On the one hand, according to the nomological view, the wave function of the universe or the universal wave function is nomological, like a law of…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-01-08 Shan Gao

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…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2014-09-23 Peter Holland

This interpretation establishes a completely classical ontology -- only the classical trajectory in configuration space -- and interprets the wave function as describing incomplete information (in form of a probability flow) about this…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2017-10-24 I. Schmelzer

The quantum state is a mathematical object used to determine the outcome probabilities of measurements on physical systems. Its fundamental nature has been the subject of discussions since the origin of the theory: is it ontic, that is,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2013-09-23 M. K. Patra , L. Olislager , F. Duport , J. Safioui , S. Pironio , S. Massar

The status of the quantum state is perhaps the most controversial issue in the foundations of quantum theory. Is it an epistemic state (state of knowledge) or an ontic state (state of reality)? In realist models of quantum theory, the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2014-04-30 M. S. Leifer

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…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-01-08 Shan Gao

We study the extent to which \psi-epistemic models for quantum measurement statistics---models where the quantum state does not have a real, ontic status---can explain the indistinguishability of nonorthogonal quantum states. This is done…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2014-07-14 Cyril Branciard

Scientific realism is the philosophical stance that science tracks truth, in particular in its depiction of the world's ontology. Ontologically, this involves a commitment to the existence of entities posited by our best scientific…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2025-07-30 Raoni Arroyo , Jonas R. Becker Arenhart

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…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2011-01-25 Sheldon Goldstein , Nino Zanghì

This paper critically considers the main interpretations of the wave function and offers an interpretation in which wave function is a consequence of subquantum processes taking place at the level of the organization of matter which…

General Physics · Physics 2017-08-31 V. A. Skrebnev , M. V. Polski

Studying the extent to which realism is compatible with quantum mechanics teaches us something about the quantum mechanical universe, regardless of the validity of such realistic assumptions. It has also recently been appreciated that these…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-09-28 Nicholas Harrigan , Terry Rudolph

The scientific methodology based on two descriptive levels, ontic (reality as it is ) and epistemic (observational), is briefly presented. Following Schr\"odinger, we point to the possible gap between these two descriptions. Our main aim is…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2018-08-07 Andrei Khrennikov

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…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-11-04 Shan Gao

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…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-05-25 Arkady Bolotin

There is a longstanding debate on the metaphysical relation between quantum states and the systems they describe. A series of relatively recent {\psi}-ontology theorems have been taken to show that, provided one accepts certain assumptions,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-04-07 Ronnie Hermens

This paper examines the physical meaning of the wave function in Bohmian mechanics (BM), addressing the debate between causal and nomological interpretations. While BM postulates particles with definite trajectories guided by the wave…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-06-05 Arnaud Amblard , Aurélien Drezet