Related papers: Diese verdammte quantenspringerei
To elucidate ideal measurements, one must explain how individual events emerge from quantum theory which deals with statistical ensembles, and how different may end up with different final states. This so-called "measurement problem" is…
The standard quantum formalism introduced at the undergraduate level treats measurement as an instantaneous collapse. In reality however, no physical process can occur over a truly infinitesimal time interval. A more subtle investigation of…
The aim of this paper is to analyze the reconstructability of quantum mechanics from classical conditional probabilities representing measurement outcomes conditioned on measurement choices. We will investigate how the quantum mechanical…
In these notes, based on lectures given as part of the Les Houches summer school on Quantum Optics and Nanophotonics in August, 2013, I have tried to give a brief survey of some important approaches and modern tendencies in quantum…
We show that the principles of a ''complete physical theory'' and the conclusions of the standard quantum mechanics do not irreconcilably contradict each other as is commonly believed. In the algebraic approach, we formulate axioms that…
The geometric form of standard quantum mechanics is compatible with the two postulates: 1) The laws of physics are invariant under the choice of experimental setup and 2) Every quantum observation or event is intrinsically statistical.…
A new formulation of quantum mechanics is developed which does not require the concept of the wave-particle duality. Rather than assigning probabilities to outcomes, probabilities are instead assigned to entire fine-grained histories. The…
Quantum theory can be viewed as a generalization of classical probability theory, but the analogy as it has been developed so far is not complete. Whereas the manner in which inferences are made in classical probability theory is…
If the block universe view is correct, the future and the past have similar status and one would expect physical theories to involve final as well as initial boundary conditions. A plausible consistency condition between the initial and…
In a recent paper (arXiv:1111.3328), Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph claim to prove that statistical interpretations of quantum mechanics do not work. In fact, their proof assumes that all statistical interpretations must be based on hidden…
The so-called measurement problem of quantum theory (QT) is still lacking a satisfactory, or at least widely agreed upon, solution. A number of theories, known as interpretations of quantum theory, have been proposed and found differing…
Quantum theory provides a significant example of two intermingling hallmarks of science: the ability to consistently combine physical systems and study them compositely, and the power to extract predictions in the form of correlations. A…
After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago, there ensued a quest to understand the often counterintuitive predictions of the theory. These endeavors invariably begin with the assumption of the "truth"…
Using a very simple Gedankenexperiment, I remind the reader that (contrary to what happens in classical mechanics) the energy of a quantum system is inevitably increased just by performing (some) textbook measurements on it. As a direct…
Theory of quantum measurements is often classified as decision theory. An event in decision theory corresponds to the measurement of an observable. This analogy looks clear for operationally testable simple events. However, the situation is…
We present the quantum measurement problem as a serious physics problem. Serious because without a resolution, quantum theory is not complete, as it does not tell how one should - in principle - perform measurements. It is physical in the…
We analyze the logical foundations of quantum mechanics (QM) by stressing non-objectivity of quantum observables which is a consequence of the absence of logical atoms in QM. We argue that the matter of quantum non-objectivity is that, on…
After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago there began a quest for how to interpret the theoretical constructs of the formalism. In fact, the pursuit of new interpretations of quantum mechanics…
The formalism of quantum mechanics produces spectacular results, but its rules, its parameters are empirical, either deduced from classical physics, or from experimental results rather than from the postulates. Thus, quantum mechanics is…
Is quantum mechanics about 'states'? Or is it basically another kind of probability theory? It is argued that the elementary formalism of quantum mechanics operates as a well-justified alternative to 'classical' instantiations of a…