Related papers: Individuality as an illusion
The concept of individuality in quantum mechanics shows radical differences from the one used in classical physics. In particular, it is not possible to consider the fundamental particles described by quantum theory as individual…
According to classical physics particles are basic building blocks of the world. Classical particles are distinguishable objects, individuated by physical characteristics. By contrast, in quantum mechanics the standard view is that…
The concept of individuality in quantum mechanics shows radical differences from the concept of individuality in classical physics, as E. Schroedinger pointed out in the early steps of the theory. Regarding this fact, some authors suggested…
Since its origins, Quantum mechanics has presented problems with the concept of individuality. It is argued that quantum particles do not have individuality, and so, one can speak about "entities without identity". On the contrary, we claim…
We put forward a possible new interpretation and explanatory framework for quantum theory. The basic hypothesis underlying this new framework is that quantum particles are conceptual entities. More concretely, we propose that quantum…
Nonreflexive quantum mechanics is a formulation of quantum theory based on a non-classical logic termed \ita{nonreflexive logic} (a.k.a. `non-reflexive'). In these logics, the standard notion of identity, as encapsulated in classical logic…
Quantum particles and classical particles are described in a common setting of classical statistical physics. The property of a particle being "classical" or "quantum" ceases to be a basic conceptual difference. The dynamics differs,…
If, in a system of identical particles, the one particle state is defined by the partial trace to one of the component spaces of the total Hilbert space, then all one particle states are identical. The particles are indistinguishable. This…
It is shown that quantum systems of identical particles can be treated as if they were different when they are in well differentiated states. This simplifying assumption allows the consideration of quantum systems isolated from the rest of…
Typical elements of quantum networks are made by identical systems, which are the basic particles constituting a resource for quantum information processing. Whether the indistinguishability due to particle identity is an exploitable…
We elaborate an interpretation of quantum physics founded on the hypothesis that quantum particles are conceptual entities playing the role of communication vehicles between material entities composed of ordinary matter which function as…
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…
We point out an earlier unnoticed implication of quantum indistinguishability, namely, a property which we call `dualism' that characterizes the entanglement of two identical particles (say, two ions of the same species) -- a feature which…
Quantum mechanics has many counter-intuitive consequences which contradict our intuition which is based on classical physics. Here we discuss a special aspect of quantum mechanics, namely the possibility of entanglement between two or more…
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…
The mathematical rules used to handle systems of identical quantum particles bring into question whether the elementary constituents of matter, such as electrons, have the fundamental characteristics of persistence and reidentifiability…
It is usually stated that quantum mechanics presents problems with the identity of particles, the most radical position -supported by E. Schrodinger- asserting that elementary particles are not individuals. But the subject goes deeper, and…
Entanglement is one of the pillars of quantum mechanics and quantum information processing, and as a result the quantumness of nonentangled states has typically been overlooked and unrecognized. We give a robust definition for the…
In this paper, we discuss content and context for quantum properties. We give some examples of why quantum properties are problematic: they depend on the context in a non-trivial way. We then connect this difficulty with properties to the…
The origin of nonclassicality in quantum mechanics (QM) has been investigated recently by a number of authors with a view to identifying axioms that would single out quantum mechanics as a special theory within a broader framework such as…