The Kochen-Specker theorem is one of the fundamental no-go theorems in quantum theory. It has far-reaching consequences for all attempts trying to give an interpretation of the quantum formalism. In this work, we examine the hypotheses that, at the ontological level, lead to the KochenSpecker contradiction. We emphasize the role of the assumptions about identity and distinguishability of quantum objects in the argument.
Is the wave function a physical reality traveling through our apparatus? Is it a real wave, or it is only a mathematical tool for calculating probabilities of results of measurements? Different interpretations of the quantum mechanics (QM) assume different answers to this question. It is shown in this article that the assumption that the wave function is a real wave entails a contradiction with the predictions of the QM, when the special relativity is invoked. Therefore, this text concentrates on interpretations which conjecture that the reality that moves in our apparatuses is particles, and …
This paper builds on no-go theorems to the effect that quantum theory is inconsistent with observations being absolute; that is, unique and non-relative. Unlike the existing no-go results, the one introduced here is based on a theory-independent absoluteness assumption, and there is no need to assume the validity of standard probability theory or of modal logic. The contradiction is derived by assuming that quantum theory applies in any inertial reference frame; accordingly, the result also illuminates a tension between special relativity and absoluteness.
The postulate of the collapse of the wave function stands between the microscopic, quantum world, and the macroscopic world. Because of this intermediate position, the collapse process cannot be examined with the formalism of the quantum mechanics (QM), neither with that of classical mechanics. This fact makes some physicists to propose interpretations of QM, which avoid this postulate. However, the common procedure used in that, is making assumptions incompatible with the QM formalism. The present work discusses the most popular interpretations. It is shown that because of such assumptions th…
In a recent paper, Żukowski and Markiewicz showed that Wigner's Friend (and, by extension, Schrödinger's Cat) can be eliminated as physical possibilities on purely logical grounds. I validate this result and demonstrate the source of the contradiction in a simple experiment in which a scientist S attempts to measure the position of object $|O\rangle = |A\rangle_S + |B\rangle_S$ by using measuring device M chosen so that $|A\rangle_M \approx |A\rangle_S$ and $|B\rangle_M \approx |B\rangle_S$. I assume that the measurement occurs by quantum amplification without collapse, in which M can entangle…
