Related papers: Scientific Objectivity and its Limits
One of the hallmarks of quantum theory is the realization that distinct measurements cannot in general be performed simultaneously, in stark contrast to classical physics. In this context the notions of coexistence and joint measurability…
Axiomatic approach to measurement theory is developed. All the possible statistical properties of apparatuses measuring an observable with nondegenerate spectrum allowed in standard quantum mechanics are characterized.
According to quantum theory, the outcomes of future measurements cannot (in general) be predicted with certainty. In some cases, even with a complete physical description of the system to be measured and the measurement apparatus, the…
Quantum states are the key mathematical objects in quantum theory. It is therefore surprising that physicists have been unable to agree on what a quantum state truly represents. One possibility is that a pure quantum state corresponds…
Theory of quantum measurements is often classified as decision theory. An event in decision theory corresponds to the measurement of an observable. This analogy looks clear for operationally testable simple events. However, the situation is…
The implications of the physical theory of quantum mechanics on the question of realism is much a subject of sustaining interest, while the background questions among physicists on how to think about all the theoretical notion and…
We show that the principles of a ''complete physical theory'' and the conclusions of the standard quantum mechanics do not irreconcilably contradict each other as is commonly believed. In the algebraic approach, we formulate axioms that…
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…
The epistemological interpretation of quantum mechanics is still in an unacceptable status. This becomes obvious if looking on the variety of interpretations currently under discussion. However, the physical community together with…
Quantum theory is a tremendously successful physical theory, but nevertheless suffers from two serious problems: the measurement problem and the problem of interpretational underdetermination. The latter, however, is largely overlooked as a…
Unavoidable disturbance caused by a quantum measurement implies that the realizable subsequent measurements are getting limited after one performs some measurement. The obvious general limitation that one cannot circumvent by sequential or…
Since ancient times, mathematics has proven unreasonably effective in its description of physical phenomena. As humankind enters a period of advancement where the completion of the much coveted theory of quantum gravity is at hand, there is…
In many a traditional physics textbook, a quantum measurement is defined as a projective measurement represented by a Hermitian operator. In quantum information theory, however, the concept of a measurement is dealt with in complete…
Measurement is of central interest in quantum mechanics as it provides the link between the quantum world and the world of everyday experience. One of the features of the latter is its robust, objective character, contrasting the delicate…
The usual formulation of quantum theory is rather abstract. In recent work I have shown that we can, nevertheless, obtain quantum theory from five reasonable axioms. Four of these axioms are obviously consistent with both classical…
It is shown that the absence of an objective existence of the results of quantum measurements cannot be proved by known experiments. There are also general arguments confirming this conclusion.
Results of measurements give legitimacy to a physical theory. What if acquiring these results in the first place necessitates what the same theory considers to be an interaction? In this note, we assume that theories account for…
An analysis of quantum measurement is presented that relies on an information-theoretic description of quantum entanglement. In a consistent quantum information theory of entanglement, entropies (uncertainties) conditional on measurement…
Along with weaving together observations, experiments, and theoretical constructs into a coherent mesh of understanding of the world around us, physics over its past five centuries has continuously refined the base concepts on which the…
The relational interpretation (or RQM, for Relational Quantum Mechanics) solves the measurement problem by considering an ontology of sparse relative events, or "facts". Facts are realized in interactions between any two physical systems…