Related papers: Indistinguishability right from the start in stand…
A unified framework for different formulations of quantum theoery is introduced specifying what is meant by a quantum mechanical theory in general.
We reconstruct finite-dimensional quantum theory from categorical principles. That is, we provide properties ensuring that a given physical theory described by a dagger compact category in which one may `discard' objects is equivalent to a…
A recent notion in theoretical physics is that not all quantum theories arise from quantising a classical system. Also, a given quantum model may possess more than just one classical limit. These facts find strong evidence in string duality…
We suggest how to construct non-perturbatively a renormalized action in quantum mechanics. We discuss similarties and differences with the standard effective action. We propose that the new quantum action is suitable to define and compute…
The emergent nature of quantum mechanics is shown to follow from a precise correspondence with the classical theory of irreversible thermodynamics.
An approach to the foundations of quantum theory is advertised that proceeds by "reverse engineering" quantum field theory. As a concrete instance of this approach, the general boundary formulation of quantum theory is outlined.
This is a systematic review of the concept of indistinguishability in both classical and quantum mechanics, with particular attention to Gibbs' paradox. Section 1 is on the Gibbs paradox; section 2 is a defense of the concept of classical…
We reconsider some important foundational problems of quantum mechanics. After reviewing the measurement problem and discussing its unavoidability, we analyze some proposals to overcome it. This analysis leads us to reconsider the current…
Irreversibility is often considered to characterize measurements in quantum mechanics. Fundamental problems with this characterization are addressed. First, whether a measurement is made in quantum mechanics is an arbitrary decision on the…
The coherence of an individual quantum state can be meaningfully discussed only when referring to a preferred basis. This arbitrariness can however be lifted when considering sets of quantum states. Here we introduce the concept of set…
Quantum mechanics can emerge from classical statistics. A typical quantum system describes an isolated subsystem of a classical statistical ensemble with infinitely many classical states. The state of this subsystem can be characterized by…
We reformulate the problem of the "interpretation of quantum mechanics" as the problem of DERIVING the quantum mechanical formalism from a set of simple physical postulates. We suggest that the common unease with taking quantum mechanics as…
A version of quantum theory is derived from a set of plausible assumptions related to the following general setting: For a given system there is a set of experiments that can be performed, and for each such experiment an ordinary…
Assuming the validity of the equivalence principle in the quantum regime, we argue that one of the assumptions of the usual definition of quantum mechanics, namely separation between the ``classical'' detector and the ``quantum'' system,…
A new realist interpretation of quantum mechanics is introduced. Quantum systems are shown to have two kinds of properties: the usual ones described by values of quantum observables, which are called extrinsic, and those that can be…
The consistent histories formulation of the quantum theory of a closed system with pure initial state defines an infinite number of incompatible consistent sets, each of which gives a possible description of the physics. We investigate the…
In this article, we discuss the identity and indistinguishability of quantum systems and the consequent need to introduce an extra postulate in Quantum Mechanics to correctly describe situations involving indistinguishable particles. This…
We reconstruct finite-dimensional quantum theory with superselection rules, which can describe hybrid quantum-classical systems, from four purely operational postulates: symmetric sharpness, complete mixing, filtering, and local equality.…
According to classical physics particles are basic building blocks of the world. Classical particles are distinguishable objects, individuated by physical characteristics. By contrast, in quantum mechanics the standard view is that…
We discuss a number of comments on quant-ph/9801061, and propose to introduce the concept of 'Causal Indistinguishability'. The incompatibility between Quantum Mechanics and Nonlocal Causality appears to be unavoidable: upholding of Quantum…