In a recent series of papers and lectures, John Conway and Simon Kochen presented The Free Will Theorem. "It asserts, roughly, that if indeed we humans have free will, then elementary particles already have their own small share of this valuable commodity." Perhaps the primary motivation of their papers was to place stringent constraints on quantum mechanical hidden variable theories, which they indeed do. Nevertheless, the notion of free will is crucial to the proof and they even speculate that the free will afforded to elementary particles is the ultimate explanation of our own free will. I don't challenge the mathematics/logic of their proof but rather their premises. Free will and determinism are, for me, not nearly adequately clarified for them to form the bases of a theoretical proof. In addition, they take for granted supplemental concepts in quantum mechanics that are in need of further explanation. It's also not clear to me what utility is afforded by the free will theorem, i.e., what, if anything, follows from it. Despite the cheeky subtitle of my essay, I do think that the explicit introduction of free will into discussions of hidden variables and other interpretations of quantum mechanics might help expose foibles in many of those deliberations. For this reason, I consider the Conway-Kochen free will theorem to be a positive contribution to the philosophy of quantum mechanics.
Uncertainty relations are shown to have nothing specific for quantum mechanics, being the general property valid for arbitrary function. A wave function of a particle having precisely defined position and momentum in QM simultaneously is demonstrated. Interference on two slits in a screen is shown to exist in classical mechanics. A nonlinear classical system of equations replacing QM Schrödinger equation is suggested. This approach is shown to have nothing in common with Bohmian mechanics.
We report the experimental realization and the characterization of polarization and momentum hyperentangled two photon states, generated by a new parametric source of correlated photon pairs. By adoption of these states an "all versus nothing" test of quantum mechanics was performed. The two photon hyperentangled states are expected to find at an increasing rate a widespread application in state engineering and quantum information. PACS: 03.65.Ud, 03.67.Mn, 42.65. Lm
I purport to show why old and new claims on the role of counterfactual reasoning for the EPR argument and the Bell theorem are unjustified: once the logical relation between locality and counterfactual reasoning is clarified, the use of the latter does no harm and the nonlocality result can well follow from the EPR premises. To show why, I critically review (i) incompleteness arguments that Einstein developed before the EPR paper, and (ii) more recent claims that equate the use of counterfactual reasoning with the assumption of a strong form of realism.
Using the spontaneous parametric down-conversion process in a type-I phase matching BBO crystal as single photon source, we perform an all-or-nothing-type Kochen-Specker experiment proposed by Simon \QTR{it}{et al}. [Phys. Rev. Lett. \QTR{bf}{85}, 1783 (2000)] to verify whether noncontextual hidden variables or quantum mechanics is right. The results strongly agree with quantum mechanics.
The usual entanglement swapping protocol can entangle two particles that never interact. Here we demonstrate an all-versus-nothing violation of local realism for a partial entanglement swapping process. A Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt-type inequality for two particles entangled by entanglement swapping is proposed for a practical experiment and can be violated quantum mechanically up to 4 beyond Cirel'son's bound 2sqr(2). Our result uncovers the intriguing nonlocal character of entanglement swapping and may lead to a conclusive (loophole-free) test of local realism versus quantum mechanics. The e…
We show all-versus-nothing proofs of Bell's theorem in the one-dimensional transverse-field Ising model, which is one of the most important exactly solvable models in the field of condensed matter physics. Since this model can be simulated with nuclear magnetic resonance, our work might lead to a fresh approach to experimental test of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger contradiction between local realism and quantum mechanics.
A recent proof of Bell's theorem without inequalities [A. Cabello, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 1911 (2001)] is formulated as a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-like proof involving just two observers. On one hand, this new approach allows us to derive an experimentally testable Bell inequality which is violated by quantum mechanics. On the other hand, it leads to a new state-independent proof of the Kochen-Specker theorem and provides a wider perspective on the relations between the major proofs of no-hidden-variables.
We present a device independently secure quantum scheme for p-threshold all-or-nothing oblivious transfer. Novelty of the scheme is that, its security does not depend -- unlike the usual case -- on any quantum bit commitment protocol, rather it depends on Hardy's argument for two-qubit system. This scheme is shown to be unconditionally secure against any strategy allowed by quantum mechanics. By providing a secure scheme for all-or-nothing quantum oblivious transfer, we have answered a long standing open problem, other than the quantum key distribution, whether there is any two-party quantum c…
We consider the task of certification of genuine entanglement of tripartite states. For this purpose, we first present an "all-versus-nothing" proof of genuine tripartite Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering by demonstrating the non-existence of a hybrid local hidden state (LHS) model in the tripartite network as a motivation to our main result. A full logical contradiction of the predictions of the hybrid LHS model with quantum mechanical outcome statistics for any three-qubit generalized Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GGHZ) states and pure W-class states is shown. Using logical contradiction…
As it is well known, classical mechanics consists of several basic features like determinism, reductionism, completeness of knowledge and mechanicism. In this article the basic assumptions are discussed which underlie those features. It is shown that these basic assumptions - though universally assumed up the beginnings of the XX century - are far from being obvious. Finally it is shown that - to a certain extent - there is nothing wrong in assuming these basic postulates. Rather, the error lies in the epistemological absolutization of the theory, which was considered as a mirroring of Nature.
In order to arrive at Bohmian mechanics from standard nonrelativistic quantum mechanics one need do almost nothing! One need only complete the usual quantum description in what is really the most obvious way: by simply including the positions of the particles of a quantum system as part of the state description of that system, allowing these positions to evolve in the most natural way. The entire quantum formalism, including the uncertainty principle and quantum randomness, emerges from an analysis of this evolution. This can be expressed succinctly---though in fact not succinctly enough---by …
The axioms of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics lack clear physical meaning. In particular, they say nothing about nonlocality. Yet quantum mechanics is not only nonlocal, it is twice nonlocal: there are nonlocal quantum correlations, and there is the Aharonov-Bohm effect, which implies that an electric or magnetic field h e r e may act on an electron t h e r e. Can we invert the logical hierarchy? That is, can we adopt nonlocality as an axiom for quantum mechanics and derive quantum mechanics from this axiom and an additional axiom of causality? Three versions of these two axioms lead to thre…
The two previous papers developed quantum mechanical formalism from classical mechanics and two additional postulates. In the first paper it was also shown that the uncertainty relations possess no ontological validity and only reflect the formalism's limitations. In this paper, a Realist Interpretation of quantum mechanics based on these results is elaborated and compared to the Copenhagen Interpretation. We demonstrate that von Neumann's proof of the impossibility of a hidden variable theory is not correct, independently of Bell's argumentation. A local hidden variable theory is found for no…
I list several strong requirements for what I would consider a sensible interpretation of quantum mechanics and I discuss two simple theorems. One, as far as I know, is new; the other was only noted a few years ago. Both have important implications for such a sensible interpretation. My talk will not clear everything up; indeed, you may conclude that it has not cleared anything up. But I hope it will provide a different perspective from which to view some old and vexing puzzles (or, if you believe nothing needs to be cleared up, some ancient verities.)
Quantum mechanics may be formulated as {\it Sensible Quantum Mechanics} (SQM) so that it contains nothing probabilistic except conscious perceptions. Sets of these perceptions can be deterministically realized with measures given by expectation values of positive-operator-valued {\it awareness operators}. Ratios of the measures for these sets of perceptions can be interpreted as frequency-type probabilities for many actually existing sets. These probabilities generally cannot be given by the ordinary quantum ``probabilities'' for a single set of alternatives. {\it Probabilism}, or ascribing pr…
Everett's Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics is discussed in the context of other physics disputes and other proposed kinds of parallel universes. We find that only a small fraction of the usual objections to Everett's theory are specific to quantum mechanics, and that all of the most controversial issues crop up also in settings that have nothing to do with quantum mechanics.
Two problems will be considered: the question of hidden parameters and the problem of Kolmogorovity of quantum probabilities. Both of them will be analyzed from the point of view of two distinct understandings of quantum mechanical probabilities. Our analysis will be focused, as a particular example, on the Aspect-type EPR experiment. It will be shown that the quantum mechanical probabilities appearing in this experiment can be consistently understood as conditional probabilities without any paradoxical consequences. Therefore, nothing implies in the Aspect experiment that quantum theory is in…
Quantum mechanics may be formulated as Sensible Quantum Mechanics (SQM) so that it contains nothing probabilistic, except, in a certain frequency sense, conscious perceptions. Sets of these perceptions can be deterministically realized with measures given by expectation values of positive-operator-valued awareness operators in a quantum state of the universe which never jumps or collapses. Ratios of the measures for these sets of perceptions can be interpreted as frequency-type probabilities for many actually existing sets rather than as propensities for potentialities to be actualized, so the…
The aim of this paper is to give a simple, geometric proof of Wigner's theorem on the realization of symmetries in quantum mechanics that clarifies its relation to projective geometry. Although several proofs exist already, it seems that the relevance of Wigner's theorem is not fully appreciated in general. It is Wigner's theorem which allows the use of linear realizations of symmetries and therefore guarantees that, in the end, quantum theory stays a linear theory. In the present paper, we take a strictly geometrical point of view in order to prove this theorem. It becomes apparent that Wigne…
For a two-particle two-state system, sets of compatible propositions exist for which quantum mechanics and noncontextual hidden-variable theories make conflicting predictions for every individual system whatever its quantum state. This permits a simple all-or-nothing state-independent experimental verification of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem.
It is proposed to give up the description of physical states in terms of ensembles of state vectors with various probabilities, relying instead solely on the density matrix as the description of reality. With this definition of a physical state, even in entangled states nothing that is done in one isolated system can instantaneously effect the physical state of a distant isolated system. This change in the description of physical states opens up a large variety of new ways that the density matrix may transform under various symmetries, different from the unitary transformations of ordinary qua…
A new non-perturbative approach is proposed to solve time-independent Schrödinger equations in quantum mechanics and chromodynamics (QCD). It is based on the homotopy analysis method (HAM), which was developed by the author for highly nonlinear equations since 1992 and has been widely applied in many fields. Unlike perturbative methods, this HAM-based approach has nothing to do with small/large physical parameters. Besides, convergent series solution can be obtained even if the disturbance is far from the known status. A nonlinear harmonic oscillator is used as an example to illustrate the val…
Elaborating on a previous work by Simon et al. [PRL 85, 1783 (2000)] we propose a realizable quantum optical single-photon experiment using standard present day technology, capable of discriminating maximally between the predictions of quantum mechanics (QM) and noncontextual hidden variable theories (NCHV). Quantum mechanics predicts a gross violation (up to a factor of 2) of the noncontextual Bell-like inequality associated with the proposed experiment. An actual maximal violation of this inequality would demonstrate (modulo fair sampling) an all-or-nothing type contradiction between QM and …
Starting with a consideration of the implication of Bell inequalities in quantum mechanics, a new quantum postulate is suggested in order to restore classical locality and causality to quantum physics: only the relative coordinates between detected quantum events are valid observables. This postulate supports the EPR view that quantum mechanics is incomplete, while also staying compatible to the Bohr view that nothing exists beyond the quantum. The new postulate follows from a more general principle of quantum relativity, which states that only correlations between experimental detections of q…
The main distinction between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics is the lack in the latter of a full mechanical determinism: different final states can arise from the same physical state, after the measurement. No hidden variable is supposed to exist, nothing can discriminate two apparently identical states even if they give a different result. In this paper we try to put the basis for a more fundamental theory that (approximately) coincides with quantum mechanics when comparing statistics, but it is more fundamental, since it mathematically describes measurement processes giving an expl…
An overview of the Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics is presented. This interpretation proceeds from the recognition that the fundamental theoretical framework of physics is a probability algorithm, which serves to describe an objective fuzziness (the literal meaning of Heisenberg's term "Unschaerfe," usually mistranslated as "uncertainty") by assigning objective probabilities to the possible outcomes of unperformed measurements. Although it rejects attempts to construe quantum states as evolving ontological states, it arrives at an objective description of the quantum world that…
In a previous paper [V. Delgado and J. G. Muga, Phys. Rev. A 56, 3425 (1997)] we introduced a self-adjoint operator $\hat {\cal T}(X)$ whose eigenstates can be used to define consistently a probability distribution of the time of arrival at a given spatial point. In the present work we show that the probability distribution previously proposed can be well understood on classical grounds in the sense that it is given by the expectation value of a certain positive definite operator $\hat J^{(+)}(X)$ which is nothing but a straightforward quantum version of the modulus of the classical current. F…
There is a significant body of literature, which includes Itamar Pitowksy's "Betting on Outcomes of Measurements," that sheds light on the structure of quantum mechanics, and the ways in which it differs from classical mechanics, by casting the theory in terms of agents' bets on the outcomes of experiments. Though this approach, by itself, is neutral as to the ontological status of quantum observables and quantum states, some, notably those who adopt the label "QBism" for their views, take this approach as providing incentive to conclude that quantum states represent nothing in physical realit…
The aim of this work is to show that particle mechanics, both classical and quantum, Hamiltonian and Lagrangian, can be derived from few simple physical assumptions. Assuming deterministic and reversible time evolution will give us a dynamical system whose set of states forms a topological space and whose law of evolution is a self-homeomorphism. Assuming the system is infinitesimally reducible---specifying the state and the dynamics of the whole system is equivalent to giving the state and the dynamics of its infinitesimal parts---will give us a classical Hamiltonian system. Assuming the syst…
Mermin's "shut up and calculate!" somehow summarizes the most widely accepted view on quantum mechanics. This conception has led to a rather constraining way to think and understand the quantum world. Nonetheless, a closer look at the principles and formal body of this theory shows that, beyond longstanding prejudices, there is still room enough for alternative tools. This is the case, for example, of Bohmian mechanics. As it is discussed here, there is nothing contradictory or wrong with this hydrodynamical representation, which enhances the dynamical role of the quantum phase to the detrimen…
Why does such a successful theory like Quantum Mechanics have so many mysteries? The history of this theory is replete with dubious interpretations and controversies, and yet a knowledge of its predictions, however, contributed to the amazing technological revolution of the last hundred years. In its very beginning Einstein pointed out that there was something missing, due to contradictions with the relativity theory. So, even though Quantum Mechanics explains all the nanoscale physical phenomena, there were many attempts to find a way to "complete" it, e.g. hidden-variable theories. In this p…
The notion of probability plays a crucial role in quantum mechanics. It appears in quantum mechanics as the Born rule. In modern mathematics which describes quantum mechanics, however, probability theory means nothing other than measure theory, and therefore any operational characterization of the notion of probability is still missing in quantum mechanics. In this paper, based on the toolkit of algorithmic randomness, we present a refinement of the Born rule, as an alternative rule to it, for specifying the property of the results of quantum measurements in an operational way. Algorithmic ran…
The ontological aspect of Bohmian mechanics, as a hidden-variable theory that provides us with an objective description of a quantum world without observers, is widely known. Yet its practicality is getting more and more acceptance and relevance, for it has proven to be an efficient and useful resource to tackle, explore, describe and explain such phenomena. This practical aspect emerges precisely when the pragmatic application of the formalism prevails over any other interpretational question, still a matter of debate and controversy. In this regard, the purpose here is to show and discuss ho…
Our aim in this paper is to point out a surprising formal connection, between two topics which seem on face value to have nothing to do with each other: relational database theory, and the study of non-locality and contextuality in the foundations of quantum mechanics. We shall show that there is a remarkably direct correspondence between central results such as Bell's theorem in the foundations of quantum mechanics, and questions which arise naturally and have been well-studied in relational database theory.
We prove that by adopting a strict interpretation of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen criterion of reality, the proofs of the known non-locality theorems fail in showing that quantum mechanics violates the principle of locality and reality.
It is shown that adopting the \emph{Quantum Field} ---extended entity in space-time build by dynamic appearance propagation and annihilation of virtual particles--- as the primary ontology the astonishing features of quantum mechanics can be rendered intuitive. This interpretation of quantum mechanics follows from the formalism of the most successful theory in physics: quantum field theory.
In a recent Letter (Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 (2005) 010503) Barrett, Hardy and Kent (BHK) considered a very interesting question which of the fundamental laws of physics ensure security of quantum cryptographic protocols. In particular, they presented quantum key distribution protocol and claimed its security in a very general framework, which allows - what they call - postquantum eavesdropping strategies i.e. which "allows for eavesdroppers who can break the laws of quantum mechanics, as long as nothing they can do implies the possibility of superluminal signaling". In this Comment, however, we sh…
This article presents a novel interpretation of quantum mechanics. It extends the meaning of ``measurement'' to include all property-indicating facts. Intrinsically space is undifferentiated: there are no points on which a world of locally instantiated physical properties could be built. Instead, reality is built on facts, in the sense that the properties of things are extrinsic, or supervenient on property-indicating facts. The actual extent to which the world is spatially and temporally differentiated (that is, the extent to which spatiotemporal relations and distinctions are warranted by th…
The 1964 theorem of John Bell shows that no model that reproduces the predictions of quantum mechanics can simultaneously satisfy the assumptions of locality and determinism. On the other hand, the assumptions of \emph{signal locality} plus \emph{predictability} are also sufficient to derive Bell inequalities. This simple theorem, previously noted but published only relatively recently by Masanes, Acin and Gisin, has fundamental implications not entirely appreciated. Firstly, nothing can be concluded about the ontological assumptions of locality or determinism independently of each other -- it…
Quantum mechanics is a fundamentally probabilistic theory (at least so far as the empirical predictions are concerned). It follows that, if one wants to properly understand quantum mechanics, it is essential to clearly understand the meaning of probability statements. The interpretation of probability has excited nearly as much philosophical controversy as the interpretation of quantum mechanics. 20th century physicists have mostly adopted a frequentist conception. In this paper it is argued that we ought, instead, to adopt a logical or Bayesian conception. The paper includes a comparison of t…
The interpretation of quantum mechanics has been a problem since its founding days. A large contribution to the discussion of possible interpretations of quantum mechanics is given by the so-called impossibility proofs for hidden variable models; models that allow a realist interpretation. In this thesis some of these proofs are discussed, like von Neumann's Theorem, the Kochen-Specker Theorem and the Bell-inequalities. Some more recent developments are also investigated, like Meyer's nullification of the Kochen-Specker Theorem, the MKC-models and Conway and Kochen's Free Will Theorem. This la…
Since quantum mechanics (QM) was formulated, many voices have claimed this to be the basis of free will in the human beings. Basically, they argue that free will is possible because there is an ontological indeterminism in the natural laws, and that the mind is responsible for the wave function collapse of matter, which leads to a choice among the different possibilities for the body. However, I defend the opposite thesis, that free will cannot be defended in terms of QM. First, because indeterminism does not imply free will, it is merely a necessary condition but not enough to defend it. Seco…
The old Bohr-Einstein debate about the completeness of quantum mechanics (QM) was held on an ontological ground. The completeness problem becomes more tractable, however, if it is preliminarily discussed from a semantic viewpoint. Indeed every physical theory adopts, explicitly or not, a truth theory for its observative language, in terms of which the notions of semantic objectivity and semantic completeness of the physical theory can be introduced and inquired. In particular, standard QM adopts a verificationist theory of truth that implies its semantic nonobjectivity; moreover, we show in th…
The overwhelming majority of scientists still takes it for granted that classical mechanics (ClM) is nothing but a limiting case of quantum mechanics (QM). Although some physicists restrict this belief to a generalized QM as represented, e. g., by the algebra of observables, it will be shown in this contribution that the view of ClM as a mere sub-set of QM is nevertheless unfounded. The usual attempts to derive the laws of ClM from QM are either insufficient or not universally applicable. The transition from traditional to algebraic QM does not add any further insight. It is demonstrated that …
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 representation of classical conditional probabilities is situated within the broader frame of noncommutative representations. To this goal, we adopt some parts of the quantum formalism and ask whether empirical data can constrain the rest of the representation to conform to quantum mechanics. We will show that as the set of empirical data grows conventional el…
Spontaneous collapse models and Bohmian mechanics are two different solutions to the measurement problem plaguing orthodox quantum mechanics. They have, a priori nothing in common. At a formal level, collapse models add a non-linear noise term to the Schrödinger equation, and extract definite measurement outcomes either from the wave function (e.g. mass density ontology) or the noise itself (flash ontology). Bohmian mechanics keeps the Schrödinger equation intact but uses the wave function to guide particles (or fields), which comprise the primitive ontology. Collapse models modify the predict…
We adopt a continuous model to estimate the Grothendieck constants. An analytical formula to compute the lower bounds of Grothendieck constants has been explicitly derived for arbitrary orders, which improves previous bounds. Moreover, our lower bound of the Grothendieck constant of order three gives a refined bound of the threshold value for the nonlocality of the two-qubit Werner states.
This paper analyses quantum mechanics in multiply connected spaces. It is shown that the multiple connectedness of the configuration space of a physical system can determine the quantum nature of physical observables, such as the angular momentum. In particular, quantum mechanics in compactified Kaluza-Klein spaces is examined. These compactified spaces give rise to an additional angular momentum which can adopt half-integer values and, therefore, may be identified with the intrinsic spin of a quantum particle.
We investigate the critical dissipation of the double-well quantum mechanics. We adopt two-state approximation to define effective Ising models and apply the block decimation renormalization group and the finite range scaling method recently proposed for the long range Ising model. We briefly report the numerical results of the critical dissipation for various model parameters.
