Related papers: An elementary proof of symmetrization postulate in…
A remarkable feature of quantum theory is that particles with identical intrinsic properties must be treated as indistinguishable if the theory is to give valid predictions. In the quantum formalism, indistinguishability is expressed via…
Reasonable requirements of (a) physical invariance under particle permutation and (b) physical completeness of state descriptions, enable us to deduce a Symmetric Permutation Rule(SPR): that by taking care with our state descriptions, it is…
We consider entanglement in a system of fixed number of identical particles. Since any operation should be symmetrized over all the identical particles and there is the precondition that the spatial wave functions overlap, the meaning of…
Two particles are identical if all their intrinsic properties, such as spin and charge, are the same, meaning that no quantum experiment can distinguish them. In addition to the well known principles of quantum mechanics, understanding…
We discuss the conditions under which identical particles may yet be distinguishable and the relationship between particle permutation and exchange. We show that we can always define permutation-symmetric state vectors. When the particles…
Distinguishability plays a major role in quantum and statistical physics. When particles are identical their wave function must be either symmetric or antisymmetric under permutations and the number of microscopic states, which determines…
I address the problem of explaining why wave functions for identical particles must be either symmetric or antisymmetric (the symmetry dichotomy) within two interpretations of quantum mechanics which include particles following definite…
According to our understanding of the everyday physical world, observable phenomena are underpinned by persistent objects that can be reidentified (or tracked) across time by observation of their distinctive properties. This understanding…
It is proved from stated assumptions of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics based on the Schroedinger equation that identical spin-zero particles must obey symmetric statistics.
There are reasons to doubt that making sense of the wave function (other than as a probability algorithm) will help with the project of making sense of quantum mechanics. The consistency of the quantum-mechanical correlation laws with the…
The connection between the problem of scattering a particle on a one-dimensional $\delta$-potential with the "Einstein's boxes" thought experiment is shown. In both cases, the validity of the superposition principle is limited by Einstein's…
Stationary-state Schr{\"o}dinger-Pauli theory is a description of electrons with a spin moment in an external electromagnetic field. For 2-electron systems as described by the Schr{\"o}dinger-Pauli theory Hamiltonian with a symmetrical…
We examine historic formulations of the spin-statistics theorem from a point of view that distinguishes between the observable consequences and the ``symmetrization postulate''. In particular, we make a critical analysis of concepts of…
Given a quantum system consisting of many parts, we show that symmetry of the system's state, i.e., invariance under swappings of the subsystems, implies that almost all of its parts are virtually identical and independent of each other.…
We propose that the Schrodinger equation results from applying the classical wave equation to describe the physical system in which subatomic particles play random motion, thereby leading to quantum mechanics. The physical reality described…
Symmetry plays a central role in many areas of modern physics. Here we show that it also underpins the dual particle and wave nature of quantum systems. We begin by noting that a classical point particle breaks translational symmetry…
The classical quantization of the motion of a free particle and that of an harmonic oscillator on a double cone are achieved by a quantization scheme [M.C. Nucci, Theor. Math. Phys. 168 (2011) 994], that preserves the Noether point…
We establish the conditions under which a conservation law associated with a non-invertible operator may be realized as a symmetry in quantum physics. As established by Wigner, all quantum symmetries must be represented by either unitary or…
The permutation symmetry is a fundamental attribute of the collective wavefunction of indistinguishable particles. It makes a difference for the behavior of collective systems having different quantum statistics but existing in the same…
It is well known that the allowed wavefunctions for an $N$-electron system should be antisymmetric with respect to the permutation of any pair of electron labels. On the other hand, the Hamiltonian for such system is invariant under any…