Related papers: Ontology in quantum mechanics
Collapse theories are versions of quantum mechanics according to which the collapse of the wave function is a real physical process. They propose precise mathematical laws to govern this process and to replace the vague conventional…
The relational version of the modal interpretation offers both a consistent quantum ontology and solution for quantum paradoxes within the framework of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. In the present paper this approach is generalized for…
It is known that the global state of a composite quantum system can be completely determined by specifying correlations between measurements performed on subsystems only. Despite the fact that the quantum correlations thus suffice to…
The (consistent or decoherent) histories interpretation provides a consistent realistic ontology for quantum mechanics, based on two main ideas. First, a logic (system of reasoning) is employed which is compatible with the Hilbert-space…
Research in the application of quantum structures to cognitive science confirms that these structures quite systematically appear in the dynamics of concepts and their combinations and quantum-based models faithfully represent experimental…
Symmetries impose structure on the Hilbert space of a quantum mechanical model. The mathematical units of this structure are the irreducible representations of symmetry groups and I consider how they function as conceptual units of…
We give a counter example to show that determinism as such is in contradiction to quantum mechanics. More precisely, we consider a simple quantum system and its environment, including the measurement device, and make the assumption that the…
The hilbert-space structure of quantum mechanics is related to the causal structure of space-time. The usual measurement hypotheses apparently preclude nonlinear or stochastic quantum evolution. By admitting a difference in the calculus of…
The issue of ontology in quantum mechanics, or equivalently the issue of the reality of the wave function is critically examined within standard quantum theory. It is argued that though no strict ontology is possible within quantum theory,…
I propose a new class of interpretations, {\it real world interpretations}, of the quantum theory of closed systems. These interpretations postulate a preferred factorization of Hilbert space and preferred projective measurements on one…
We consider ontological models of a quantum system, assuming that not all probability distributions over the space $\Lambda$ of ontic states are preparable, only those belonging to a certain set C. We assume further that every POVM with a…
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…
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…
I suggest that the current situation in quantum field theory (QFT) provides some reason to question the universal validity of ontological reductionism. I argue that the renormalization group flow is reversible except at fixed points, which…
In this paper, epistemology and ontology of quantum states are discussed based on a completely new way of founding quantum theory. The fundamental notions are conceptual variables in the mind of an observer or in the joint minds of a group…
Investigating a class of models that is familiar in studies of cellular automata, we find that quantum operators can be employed to describe their long distance behavior. These operators span a Hilbert space that appears to turn such a…
One area of physics education research has focused on the nature of ontologies (mental categorizations of concepts, substances and processes), and how they might be used to gain insight into student thinking when learning classical physics.…
When it comes to performing thought experiments with black holes, Einstein-Bohr like discussions have to be re-opened. For instance one can ask what happens to the quantum state of a black hole when the wave function of a single ingoing…
We investigate the relationship between two properties of quantum transformations often studied in popular subtheories of quantum theory: covariance of the Wigner representation of the theory and the existence of a transformation…
We show that several interpretations of quantum mechanics admit an ontology of objects and events. This ontology reduces the breach between mind and matter. When humans act, their actions do not appear explainable in mechanical terms but…