The prediction of the N-box paradox, that whichever box is opened will contain the record of the particle having passed through it, is traced to a failure to specify whether the other boxes are distinguishable or indistinguishable. These correspond to different ways of lifting the degeneracy of a certain measurement, and have incompatible consequences.
A formulation of quantum mechanics based on an operational definition of state is presented. This formulation, which includes explicitly the macroscopic systems, assumes the probabilistic interpretation and is nevertheless objective. The classical paradoxes of quantum mechanics are analyzed and their origin is found to be the fictitious properties that are usually attributed to quantum-mechanical states. The hypothesis that any mixed state can always be considered as an incoherent superposition of pure states is found to contradict quantum mechanics. A solution of EPR paradox is proposed. It i…
The orthodox quantum mechanics has been commonly regarded as being supported decisively by the polarization EPR experiments, in which Bell's inequalities have been violated. The given conclusion has been based, however, on several mistakes that have not been yet commonly known and sufficiently analyzed. The whole problem will be newly discussed and a corresponding solution will be proposed.
This paper is a comment on quant-ph/0606067 by Ravon and Vaidman, in which they defend the position that the ``three-box paradox'' is indeed paradoxical.
The classical three-box paradox of Kirkpatrick [J. Phys. A 36 4891 (2003)] is compared to the original quantum Three-Box paradox of Aharonov and Vaidman [J. Phys. A 24 2315 (1991)]. It is argued that the quantum Three-Box experiment is a "quantum paradox" in the sense that it is an example of a classical task which cannot be accomplished using classical means, but can be accomplished using quantum devices. It is shown that Kirkpatrick's card game is analogous to a different game with a particle in three boxes which does not contain paradoxical features.
The Einstein's Boxes paradox was developed by Einstein, de Broglie, Heisenberg, and others to demonstrate the incompleteness of the Copenhagen Formulation of quantum mechanics. I explain the paradox using the Copenhagen Formulation.~I then show how a time-symmetric formulation of quantum mechanics resolves the paradox in the way envisioned by Einstein and de Broglie. Finally, I describe an experiment that can distinguish between these two formulations.
Quantum pre- and post-selection (PPS) paradoxes occur when counterfactual inferences are made about different measurements that might have been performed, between two measurements that are actually performed. The 3 box paradox is the paradigm example of such a paradox, where a ball is placed in one of three boxes and it is inferred that it would have been found, with certainty, both in box 1 and in box 2 had either box been opened on their own. Precisely what is at stake in PPS paradoxes has been unclear, and classical models have been suggested which are supposed to mimic the essential featur…
Contrary to the opinion of J. Polchinski [Phys.Rev.Lett. {\bf 66}, 397-400 (1991)], the phenomenon of superluminal messages in nonlinear versions of quantum mechanics is not a specific difficulty in a class of theories formulated by S. Weinberg [Ann.Phys. (N.Y.), {\bf 194}, 336-386 (1989)]. It appears in all schemes which try to enlarge the orthodox class of observables, while conserving the traditional structure of the pure and mixed states.
A simple classical probabilistic system (a simple card game) classically exemplifies Aharonov and Vaidman's "Three-Box 'paradox'" [J. Phys. A 24, 2315 (1991)], implying that the Three-Box example is neither quantal nor a paradox and leaving one less difficulty to busy the interpreters of quantum mechanics. An ambiguity in the usual expression of the retrodiction formula is shown to have misled Albert, Aharonov, and D'Amato [Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 5 (1985)] to a result not, in fact, "curious"; the discussion illustrates how to avoid this ambiguity.
Einstein's objection against both the completeness claim of the orthodox version and the Bohmian interpretation of quantum theory, using the example of a 'particle in a box', is reiterated and resolved. This is done by proving that the corresponding quantum mechanical states exactly match classical analogues. The latter are shown to result from the recently elaborated physics of diffusion waves.
We propose in this work a definite theoretical implementation of the three-box paradox - a scheme in which a single quantum particle appears to be present with certainty in two separate boxes - with spin-1 atoms. We further show how our setup can give rise to a "Cheshire cat grin" type of situation, in which an atom can apparently be found with certainty in one of the boxes while one of its properties (the angular momentum projection along a specifically chosen axis) appears to be in a different box. The significance of our findings are discussed relative to the status of the properties of a s…
The three-box problem is analysed in terms of virtual pathways, interference between which is destroyed by a number of intermediate measurements. The Aharonov-Bergmann-Lebowitz (ABL) rule is shown to be a particular case of Feynman's recipe for assigning probabilities to exclusive alternatives. The 'paradoxical' features of the three box case arise in an attempt to attribute, in contradiction to the uncertainty principle, properties pertaining to different ensembles produced by different intermediate measurements to the same particle. The effect can be mimicked by a classical system, provided …
An apparent paradox proposed by Aharonov and Vaidman in which a single particle can be found with certainty in two (or more) boxes is analyzed by way of a simple thought experiment. It is found that the apparent paradox arises from an invalid counterfactual usage of the Aharonov-Bergmann-Lebowitz (ABL) rule, and effectively attributes conflicting properties not to the same particle but to different particles. A connection is made between the present analysis and the consistent histories formulation of Griffiths. Finally, a critique is given of some recent counterarguments by Vaidman against th…
Quantum three box paradox is a prototypical example of some bizarre predictions for intermediate measurements made on pre- and post-selected systems. Although in principle those effects can be explained by measurement disturbance, it is not clear what mechanisms are required to fully account for the observed correlations. In this paper, this paradox is scrutinised from the causal point of view. We consider an array of potential causal structures behind the experiment, eliminating those without enough explanatory power. This gives a means of differentiating between the various mechanisms in whi…
Coherence as a resource for $N$-box and quantum pigeonhole paradoxes
INL – International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory(国际伊比利亚纳米技术实验室);Institute of Theoretical Physics, Ulm University(乌尔姆大学理论物理研究所);Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST)(集成量子科学与技术中心);Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal Fluminense(弗鲁米嫩塞联邦大学物理研究所)
The ``N-Box Experiment'' is a much-discussed thought experiment in quantum mechanics. It is claimed by some authors that a single particle prepared in a superposition of N+1 box locations and which is subject to a final ``post-selection'' measurement corresponding to a different superposition can be said to have occupied ``with certainty'' N boxes during the intervening time. However, others have argued that under closer inspection, this surprising claim fails to hold. Aharonov and Vaidman have continued their advocacy of the claim in question by proposing a variation on the N-box experiment, …
As it is well-known one of the most fascinating examples in remarkable discussion between Einstein and Bohr on the conceptual foundation of the quantum mechanics (Heisenberg energy-time uncertainty relation especially) was an experimental device representing a box hanged on an elastic spring. The pair of similar devices is used in this work for formulation of a classical and (implicitly) quantum mechanical analog of the famous two capacitors paradox. It admits a simple solution of the paradox since energy difference or seeming paradoxical "loss" can be explained by work of the elastic force fo…
Which theories lead to a contradiction between simple reasoning principles and modelling observers' memories as physical systems? Frauchiger and Renner have shown that this is the case for quantum theory, with a thought experiment that leads to a multi-agent paradox. Here we generalize the conditions of the Frauchiger-Renner result so that they can be applied to arbitrary physical theories, and in particular to those expressed as generalized probabilistic theories (GPTs). We then apply them to a particular GPT, box world, and find a deterministic contradiction in the case where agents may shar…
A local interpretation of quantum mechanics is presented. Its main ingredients are: first, a label attached to one of the virtual paths in the path integral formalism, determining the output for measurement of position or momentum; second, a mathematical model for spin states, equivalent to the path integral formalism for point particles in space time, with the corresponding label. The mathematical machinery of orthodox quantum mechanics is maintained, in particular amplitudes of probability and Born's rule; therefore, Bell's type inequalities theorems do not apply. It is shown that statistica…
The "particle in a box" problem is investigated for a relativistic particle obeying the Klein-Gordon equation. To find the bound states, the standard methods known from elementary non-relativistic quantum mechanics can only be employed for "shallow" wells. For deeper wells, when the confining potentials become supercritical, we show that a method based on a scattering expansion accounts for Klein tunneling (undamped propagation outside the well) and the Klein paradox (charge density increase inside the well). We will see that in the infinite well limit, the wavefunction outside the well vanish…
Hardy's nonlocality is a "nonlocality proof without inequalities": it exemplifies that quantum correlations can be qualitatively stronger than classical correlations. This paper introduces variants of Hardy's nonlocality in the CHSH scenario which are realized by the PR-box, but not by quantum correlations. Hence this new kind of Hardy-type nonlocality is a proof without inequalities showing that superquantum correlations can be qualitatively stronger than quantum correlations.
In this paper we present a solution of the Einstein's boxes paradox by modern Quantum Mechanics in which a notion of density matrix is equivalent to a notion of a quantum state of a system. We use a secondary quantization formalism in the attempt to make a description particularly clear. The aim of this paper is to provide pedagogical help to the students of quantum mechanics.
This paper is the answer to the paper by Kastner [Found. Phys., to be published, quant-ph/9807037] in which she continued the criticism of the counterfactual usage of the Aharonov-Bergman-Lebowitz rule in the framework of the time-symmetrized quantum theory, in particular, by analyzing the three-box ``paradox''. It is argued that the criticism is not sound. Paradoxical features of the three-box example has been explained. It is explained that the elements of reality in the framework of time-symmetrized quantum theory are counterfactual statements and, therefore, even conflicting elements of re…
Recently we proposed the linguistic interpretation of quantum mechanics (called quantum and classical measurement theory), which was characterized as a kind of metaphysical and linguistic turn of the Copenhagen interpretation. This turn from physics to language does not only extend quantum theory to classical systems but also yield the quantum mechanical world view (i.e., quantum philosophy or quantum language). The purpose of this paper is to formulate the double-slit experiment, the quantum eraser experiment, Wheeler's delayed choice experiment, Hardy's paradox and the three boxes paradox (t…
A so called 'weak value' of an observable in quantum mechanics (QM) may be obtained in a weak measurement + post-selection procedure on the QM system under study. Applied to number operators, it has been invoked in revisiting some QM paradoxes (e.g., the so called Three Box paradox and Hardy s paradox). This requires the weak value to be interpreted as a bona fide property of the system considered, a par with entities like operator mean values and eigenvalues. I question such an interpretation; it has no support in the basic axioms of quantum mechanics and it leads to unreasonable results in c…
Quantum mechanics allows for multiple predictions for the outcome of an EPR experiment. The correct calculation must be used, guided by the physical conditions of the experiment. The quantum joint prediction for EPR correlation is derived and shown to involve a single sampling. The solution for separated measurement, where there are two private samplings, is then developed using orthodox quantum mechanics with Luders' rule for state projection on measurement. The separated solution is shown to duplicate the predictions of the quantum joint solution. However, it is shown that this solution requ…
In the following we revisit the frequency interpretation of probability of Richard von Mises, in order to bring the essential implicit notions in focus. Following von Mises, we argue that probability can only be defined for events that can be repeated in similar conditions, and that exhibit 'frequency stabilization'. The central idea of the present article is that the mentioned 'conditions' should be well-defined and 'partitioned'. More precisely, we will divide probabilistic systems into object, environment, and probing subsystem, and show that such partitioning allows to solve a wide variety…
In this work we analyze the deep link between the 20th Century positivist re-foundation of physics and the famous measurement problem of quantum mechanics. We attempt to show why this is not an "obvious" nor "self evident" problem for the theory of quanta, but rather a direct consequence of the empirical-positivist understanding of physical theories when applied to the orthodox quantum formalism. In contraposition, we discuss a representational realist account of both physical 'theories' and 'measurement' which goes back to the works of Einstein, Heisenberg and Pauli. After presenting a critic…
Quantum correlations between distant particles remain enigmatic since the birth of quantum mechanics. Here we predict a novel kind of bound quantum state in the simplest one-dimensional setup of two interacting particles in a box. Paradoxically, two entangled particles become localized at the opposite edges of the box even though their interactions at large distance should seemingly play no role. Such states could be realized in the waveguide quantum electrodynamics platform, where an array of superconducting qubits or cold atoms is coupled to a waveguide. We demonstrate how long-range wavegui…
A history of the discovery of quantum mechanics and paradoxes of its interpretation is reconsidered from the modern point of view of quantum stochastics and information. It is argued that in the orthodox quantum mechanics there is no place for quantum phenomenology such as events. The development of quantum measurement theory, initiated by von Neumann, and Bell's conceptual critics of hidden variable theories indicated a possibility for resolution of this crisis. This can be done by divorcing the algebra of the dynamical generators and an extended algebra of the potential (quantum) and the act…