Related papers: The wavefunction as a true ensemble
One attractive interpretation of quantum mechanics is the ensemble interpretation, where Quantum Mechanics merely describes a statistical ensemble of objects and not individual objects. But this interpretation does not address why the…
We analyze the issue of the interpretation of the wavefunction, namely whether it should be interpreted as describing individual systems or ensembles of identically prepared systems. We propose an experiment which can decide the issue,…
The ontological models framework distinguishes $\psi$-ontic from $\psi$-epistemic wavefunctions. It is, in general, quite straightforward to categorize the wave-function of a certain quantum theory. Nevertheless, there has been a debate…
It is shown that the wave function describes the state of the statistical ensemble E[S] of individual particles, or the statistical average particle <S>. This result follows from the fact that in the classical limit h=0 the Schroedinger…
The quantum mechanics is considered to be a partial case of the stochastic system dynamics. It is shown that the wave function describes the state of statistically averaged system $<\mathcal{S}_{st}>$, but not that of the individual…
We celebrate this year hundred years of quantum mechanics but there is still no consensus regarding its interpretation and limitations. In this article we advocate the statistical contextual interpretation which is free of paradoxes. State…
We investigate the meaning of the wave function by analyzing the mass and charge density distributions of a quantum system. According to protective measurement, a charged quantum system has mass and charge density distributing in space,…
Central to quantum theory, the wavefunction is the complex distribution used to completely describe a quantum system. Despite its fundamental role, it is typically introduced as an abstract element of the theory with no explicit definition.…
In discussion of the interpretation of quantum mechanics the terms `ontic' and `epistemic' are often used in the sense of pertaining to what exists, and pertaining to cognition or knowledge respectively. The terms are also often associated…
The Born probability measure describes the statistics of measurements in which observers self-locate themselves in some region of reality. In $\psi$-ontic quantum theories, reality is directly represented by the wavefunction. We show that…
We show that the quantum wavefunction, interpreted as the probability density of finding a single non-localized quantum particle, which evolves according to classical laws of motion, is an intermediate description of a material quantum…
As a counterexample to $\psi$-ontology theorems we consider a $\psi$-epistemic interpretation of the wave function in the configuration space representation with a configuration space trajectory defining the ontology. This shows that…
We re-use some original ideas of de~Broglie, Schr\"odiger, Dirac and Feynman to revise the ensemble interpretation of wave function in quantum mechanics. To this end we introduce coherence (auto-concordance) of ensembles of quantum…
We present a new interpretation of the terms superposition, entanglement, and measurement that appear in quantum mechanics. We hypothesize that the structure of the wave function for a quantum system at the sub-Planck scale has a…
Effects associated in quantum mechanics with a divisible probability wave are explained as physically real consequences of the equal but opposite reaction of the apparatus as a particle is measured. Taking as illustration a Mach-Zehnder…
Although quantum mechanics is one of our most successful physical theories, there has been a long-standing debate about the interpretation of the wave function---the central object of the theory. Two prominent views are that (i) it…
A new ensemble interpretation of quantum mechanics is proposed according to which the ensemble associated to a quantum state really exists: it is the ensemble of all the systems in the same quantum state in the universe. Individual systems…
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…
We investigate the meaning of the wave function by analyzing the mass and charge density distribution of a quantum system. According to protective measurement, a charged quantum system has mass and charge density proportional to the modulus…
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…