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Wigner Friend scenarios -- in which an external agent describes quantum mechanically a laboratory in which a Friend is making a measurement -- give rise to possible inconsistencies due to the ambiguous character of quantum measurements. In…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-12-08 A. Matzkin , D. Sokolovski

Two recent, prominent theorems--the "no-go theorem for observer-independent facts" and the "Local Friendliness no-go theorem"--employ so-called extended Wigner's friend scenarios to try to impose novel, non-trivial constraints on the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-06-02 E. Okon

It is generally agreed that decoherence theory is, if not a complete answer, at least a great step forward towards a solution of the quantum measurement problem. It is shown here however that in the cases in which a sentient being is…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2009-11-10 Bernard d'Espagnat

An experiment by Proietti {\it et al} purporting to instantiate the `Wigner's Friend' thought experiment is discussed. It is pointed out that the stated implications of the experiment regarding the alleged irreconcilability of facts…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-03-30 R. E. Kastner

We develop a new interpretation of quantum theory by combining insights from extended Wigner's friend scenarios and quantum causal modelling. In this interpretation, which synthesizes ideas from relational quantum mechanics and consistent…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2024-02-01 Nick Ormrod , Jonathan Barrett

Recent extended formulations of the Wigner's friend thought experiment throw the measurement problem of quantum mechanics into sharper relief. Here I respond to an invitation by Renner to provide a consistent and concrete set of rules for…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-07-07 Joseph M. Renes

The renowned Local Friendliness no-go theorem demonstrates the incompatibility of quantum theory with the combined assumptions of Absoluteness of Observed Events - the idea that observed outcomes are singular and objective - and Local…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2026-05-18 Laurens Walleghem , Lorenzo Catani

We discuss Wiseman, Cavalcanti and Rieffel's "thoughtful" local friendliness no-go theorem and the experimental programme they propose to test local friendliness inequalities. We argue that, to prove the theorem, the assumptions need to be…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-03-17 Adrian Kent

The description of Wigner-friend scenarios -- in which external agents describe a closed laboratory containing a friend making a measurement -- remains problematic due to the ambiguous nature of quantum measurements. One option is to…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-10-16 J. Allam , A. Matzkin

The suggestion that particles of the same kind may be indistinguishable in a fundamental sense, even so that challenges to traditional notions of individuality and identity may arise, has first come up in the context of classical…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-06-19 Dennis Dieks

Wigner's friend thought experiment is intended to reveal the inherent tension between unitary evolution and measurement collapse. On the basis of Wigner's friend experiment, Brukner derives a no-go theorem for observer-independent facts. We…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-06-23 Dong Ding , Can Wang , Ying-Qiu He , Tong Hou , Ting Gao , Feng-Li Yan

The problem of the observer in quantum mechanics is getting new human content. The paradox of Wigner's friend and its extended versions have observers who not only observe quantum phenomena, but communicate, have memories and even…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2020-10-08 Göte Nyman

We propose a new Wigner inequality suitable for test of the hypothesis of realism. We show that this inequality is not identical neither to the well-known Wigner inequality nor to the Leggett-Garg inequality in Wigner form. The obtained…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2019-12-18 N. Nikitin , K. Toms

It is well-known that the law of total probability does not hold in general in quantum theory. However, the recent arguments on some of the fundamental assumptions in quantum theory based on the extended Wigner's Friend scenario show a need…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-07-01 Jianhao M. Yang

Can normal science-in the Kuhnian sense-add something substantial to the discussion about the measurement problem? Does an extended Wigner's-friend Gedankenexperiment illustrate new issues? Or a new quality of known issues? Are we led to…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2019-05-02 Arne Hansen , Stefan Wolf

Natural philosophy integrates scientific observation with abstract frameworks, often using a mathematical Ansatz to hypothesise about physical phenomena. Exploring the possibility of other universes, however, challenges assumptions that…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2026-01-21 Jonathan M. M. Hall

Recent arguments, involving entangled systems shared by sets of Wigner's friend arrangements, allegedly show that the assumption that the experiments performed by the friends yield definite outcomes, is incompatible with quantum…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-01-20 Elias Okon

In the literature on quantum reference frames, the internal (relative) properties of a system are defined as those which are preserved under an arbitrary change of reference frame. For a system of quantum spins, these are all properties…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-10-10 Jacques Pienaar

This article suggests that thinking about the role of reference frames can provide new insight into Extended Wigner's Friend scenarios. This involves appealing to symmetries to make a principled distinction between properties of a system…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-12-09 Emily Adlam

We introduce a new paradox, which we call Counterfactual Local Friendliness (CLF): a Wigner's-friend-type logical collision in which every decisive inference is obtained by interaction-free flags whose disturbance on the probed object is…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-09-03 Maximilian Ralph Peter von Liechtenstein