Related papers: The measurement problem and scientific realism
Is the universe computable? If yes, is it computationally a polynomial place? In standard quantum mechanics, which permits infinite parallelism and the infinitely precise specification of states, a negative answer to both questions is not…
The measurement process for hidden-configuration formulations of quantum mechanics is analysed. It is shown how a satisfactory description of quantum measurement can be given in this framework. The unified treatment of hidden-configuration…
The quantum reality problem is that of finding a mathematically precise definition of a sample space of configurations of beables, events, histories, paths, or other mathematical objects, and a corresponding probability distribution, for…
Inspired by the work of Wheeler among others, we have studied the problem of quantum measurements of space-time distances by applying the general principles of quantum mechanics as well as those of general relativity. Contrary to the…
The logical foundations of Bell's inequality are reexamined. We argue that the form of the reality condition that underpins Bell's inequality comes from the requirement of solving the quantum measurement problem. Hence any violation of…
We begin by discussing ``What exists?'', i.e. ontology, in Classical Physics which provided a description of physical phenomena at the macroscopic level. The microworld however necessitates a introduction of Quantum ideas for its…
In this article we present a possible way to make usual quantum mechanics fully compatible with physical realism, defined as the statement that the goal of physics is to study entities of the natural world, existing independently from any…
Our notions of what is physically 'real' have long been based on the idea that the real is what is immediately apprehended, that is the local or observable, the physically tangible, though there has always been an alternative philosophical…
Most physics theories are deterministic, with the notable exception of quantum mechanics which, however, comes plagued by the so-called measurement problem. This state of affairs might well be due to the inability of standard mathematics to…
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 most dramatic developments in theoretical physics in the next millennium are likely to come when we make progress on so far unresolved foundational questions. In this essay I consider two of the deepest problems confronting us, the…
Any realist interpretation of quantum theory must grapple with the measurement problem and the status of state-vector collapse. In a no-collapse approach, measurement is typically modeled as a dynamical process involving decoherence. We…
In this mainly pedagogical article, we discuss under what circumstances measurements play a special role in quantum processes. In particular we discuss the following facts which appear to be a common area of confusion: i) from a fundamental…
The convenience of coherent state representation is discussed from the viewpoint of what is in a broad sense called the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. Standard quantum theory in coherent state representation is intrinsically…
We present a brief non-technical introduction to the standing discussion on the relation between Quantum Mechanics and Determinism. Quantum Mechanics inherent randomness in the measurement process is sometimes presented as a door to explain…
A new quantum ontology of quantum mechanics has been proposed recently. This ontology is based on impossible to realize measurements which need to be performed repeatedly on the same single physical system or on the same pair of physical…
Quantum mechanics, in its orthodox version, imposes severe limits on what can be known, or even said, about the condition of a quantum system between two observations. A relatively new approach, based on so-called "weak measurements",…
The interpretation of the meaning of Quantum Mechanics has faced controversy since its inception. Bell's inequalities are a touchstone in this controversy. Their observed violation demonstrates that at least one of the hypotheses involved…
Measurements play a crucial role in doing physics: Their results provide the basis on which we adopt or reject physical theories. In this note, we examine the effect of subjecting measurements themselves to our experience. We require that…
The topic of measurement in relativistic quantum field theory is addressed in this article. Some of the long standing problems of this subject are highlighted, including the incompatibility of an instantaneous ``collapse of the…