Related papers: Limitations on the superposition principle: supers…
The concept of a superposition is a revolutionary novelty introduced by Quantum Mechanics. If a system may be in any one of two pure states x and y, we must consider that it may also be in any one of many superpositions of x and y. An…
A succinct statement and justification of all the principles necessary to understand and evaluate interpretations of quantum mechanics is given. These principles provide strong constraints on interpretations. They imply the particle-like…
Bargmann's superselection rule, which forbids the existence of superpositions of states with different mass and, therefore, implies the impossibility of describing unstable particles in non-relativistic quantum mechanics, arises as a…
The quantum superposition principle, a key distinction between quantum physics and classical mechanics, is often perceived as a philosophical challenge to our concepts of reality, locality or space-time since it contrasts our intuitive…
This note provides a summary of the meaning of the term `Superselection Rule' in Quantum Mechanics and Quantum-Field Theory. It is a slightly extended version of a contribution to the Compendium of Quantum Physics: Concepts, Experiments,…
The measurement conundrum seems to have plagued quantum mechanics for so long that impressions of an inconsistency amongst its axioms have spawned. A demonstration that such purported inconsistency is fictitious may then be in order and is…
Principle of Relativity involving all, not only subluminal, inertial frames leads to the disturbance of causal laws in a way known from the fundamental postulates of Quantum Theory. We show how quantum indeterminacy based on complex…
Einstein`s equivalence principle states the complete physical equivalence of a gravitational field and corresponding inertial field in an accelerated reference frame. However, to what extent the equivalence principle remains valid in…
The three major theoretical principles of quantum mechanics relevant to its interpretation are: (T1), linearity; (T2), invariance under certain groups; and (T3) the orthogonality and isolation of the different branches of the state vector.…
Quantum mechanics is an extremely successful theory of nature and yet it lacks an intuitive axiomatization. In contrast, the special theory of relativity is well understood and is rooted into natural or experimentally justified postulates.…
Superposition rules form a class of functions that describe general solutions of systems of first-order ordinary differential equations in terms of generic families of particular solutions and certain constants. In this work we extend this…
The debate on the nature of quantum probabilities in relation to Quantum Non Locality has elevated Quantum Mechanics to the level of an "Operational Epistemic Theory". In such context the quantum superposition principle has an extraneous…
Postulated by Pauli to explain the electronic structure of atoms and molecules, the exclusion principle establishes an upper bound of 1 for the fermionic natural occupation numbers $\{n_i\}$. A recent analysis of the pure…
Standard quantum mechanics unquestionably violates the separability principle that classical physics (be it point-like analytic, statistical, or field-theoretic) accustomed us to consider as valid. In this paper, quantum nonseparability is…
Five physical assumptions are proposed that together entail the general qualitative results, including the Born rule, of non-relativistic quantum mechanics by physical and information-theoretic reasoning alone. Two of these assumptions…
The quantum principle of relativity (QPR) puts forward an ambitious idea: extend special relativity with a formally superluminal branch of Lorentz-type maps, and treat the resulting consistency constraints as hints about why quantum theory…
Core quantum postulates including the superposition principle and the unitarity of evolutions are natural and strikingly simple. I show that -- when supplemented with a limited version of predictability (captured in the textbook accounts by…
We consider the situation of a physical entity that is the compound entity consisting of two 'separated' quantum entities. In earlier work it has been proven by one of the authors that such a physical entity cannot be described by standard…
Quantum mechanics is derived from the principle that the universe contain as much variety as possible, in the sense of maximizing the distinctiveness of each subsystem. The quantum state of a microscopic system is defined to correspond to…
Whether quantum physics is universally valid is an open question with far-reaching implications. Intense research is therefore invested into testing the quantum superposition principle with ever heavier and more complex objects. Here we…