This essay is a response to the (March 2000) Physics Today Opinion article "Quantum Theory Needs No Interpretation" by Fuchs and Peres. It was written several years ago and has been collecting electronic dust ever since Physics Today said they weren't interested. We post it here with the hope that it may still be of some interest.
Floquet Interpretation of Avoided Crossings in AC Stark-Shifted Rydberg-EIT Spectra
National Institute of Standards and Technology（美国国家标准与技术研究院）；Department of Electrical, Computer, and Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校电气、计算机与工程学院）
The aim of this article is to define a time-dependent cosmological interpretation of quantum mechanics in the context of an infinite open FLRW universe. A time-dependent quantum state is defined for observers in similar observable universes by using the particle horizon. Then, we prove that the wave function collapse of this quantum state is avoided.
On the relevance of avoided crossings away from quantum critical point to the complexity of quantum adiabatic algorithm
两个最近的预印本[B。阿尔茨赫姆湾Krovi和J. Roland，“Quantum adiabatic optimization fails for random instances of NP-complete problems”，arXiv：0908.2782和“安德森局域化casts clouds over adiabatic quantum optimization”，arXiv：0912.0746]认为，对于作为实例大小N的逆幂缩放的非常小的横向场，对NP-complete问题的随机实例的局部最小值的能量的随机4阶微扰校正导致避免的交叉，所述交叉导致接近末端的量子绝热算法的失败（由于指数小间隙）。本文的理论部分没有考虑零场下基态和激发态的指数简并。修正后的分析表明，不像那些在中间的频谱，避免交叉的边缘将需要高[O（1）]的横向领域，在这一点上的微扰理论可能会成为发散由于量子相变。这种效应只在大的情况下才表现出来[exp（0.02 N）>> 1]，这可能是作者的数值工作中没有观察到这种效应的原因。虽然我们对量子绝热算法失败的机制提出了质疑，但我们不能对它的最终复杂性得出任何结论。
This is an analysis of the recently published article `Quantum theory cannot consistently describe the use of itself' by D. Frauchiger and R. Renner~\cite{1}. Here I decipher the paradox and analyze it from the point of view of de Broglie-Bohm hidden variable theory (i.e., Bohmian mechanics). I also analyze the problem from the perspective obtained by the Copenhagen interpretation (i.e., the Bohrian interpretation) and show that both views are self consistent and do not lead to any contradiction with a `single-world' description of quantum theory.
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 …
In a recent article (Found Sci (2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-020-09666-0) Marek Czachor claims that the Bell inequality cannot be proved because variables of complementary measurements cannot be added or multiplied. Even though he has correctly identified the problems existing with the orthodox interpretation of the Bell inequality and dealt with them in an original way, the interpretation he addresses do not pertain to the original formulation given by John Stewart Bell.
Recently, Frauchiger and Renner proposed a Gedankenexperiment, which was claimed to be able to prove that quantum theory cannot consistently describe the use of itself. Here we show that the conclusions of Frauchiger and Renner actually came from their incorrect description of some quantum states. With the correct description there will be no inconsistent results, no matter which quantum interpretation theory is used. Especially, the Copenhagen interpretation can satisfy all the three assumptions (C), (Q), and (S) of Frauchiger and Renner simultaneously, thus it has no problem consistently des…
The idea that non-local correlations stronger than quantum correlations between two no-signaling systems could theoretically exist is based on an incorrect statistical interpretation of the no-signaling condition. This article shows that any physically realizable no-signaling box involving local incompatible observables indeed requires to be described in a non-commutative, quantum-like language of operators -which leads to the derivation of the Tsirelson bound and then contradicts this idea.
We present a critique of the many-world interpretation of quantum mechanics, based on different ``pictures'' that describe the time evolution of an isolated quantum system. Without an externally imposed frame to restrict these possible pictures, the theory cannot yield non-trivial interpretational statements. This is analogous to Goodman's famous ``grue-bleen'' problem of language and induction. Using a general framework applicable to many kinds of dynamical theories, we try to identify the kind of additional structure (if any) required for the meaningful interpretation of a theory. We find th…
The interpretation of quantum theory is one of the longest-standing debates in physics. Type I interpretations see quantum probabilities as determined by intrinsic properties of the observed system. Type II see them as relational experiences between an observer and the system. It is usually believed that a decision between these two options cannot be made simply on purely physical grounds but requires an act of metaphysical judgment. Here we show that, under some assumptions, the problem is decidable using thermodynamics. We prove that type I interpretations are incompatible with the following…
This paper presents the thermal interpretation of quantum physics. The insight from Part I of this series that Born's rule has its limitations -- hence cannot be the foundation of quantum physics -- opens the way for an alternative interpretation -- the thermal interpretation of quantum physics. It gives new foundations that connect quantum physics (including quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, quantum field theory and their applications) to experiment. The thermal interpretation resolves the problems of the foundations of quantum physics revealed in the critique from Part I of this seri…
$ψ$-epistemic interpretations of quantum theory maintain that quantum states only represent incomplete information about the physical states of the world. A major motivation for this view is the promise to provide a reasonable account of state update under measurement by asserting that it is simply a natural feature of updating incomplete statistical information. Here we demonstrate that all known epistemic ontological models of quantum theory in dimension $d\geq3$, including those designed to evade the conclusion of the PBR theorem, cannot represent state update correctly. Conversely, interpr…
In this study, I argue that the future is not open if quantum mechanics is complete. An open future means that the value observed when measuring a physical quantity in the future is not determined. At first glance, quantum mechanics seems to support the open future thesis, because it cannot always predict measurement value with certainty. However, many interpretations regard quantum mechanics as deterministic. These interpretations only suggest that the quantum mechanical world can be deterministic. I argue that, although quantum mechanics cannot predict the future with certainty, the quantum …
Most physicists do not have patience for reading long and obscure interpretation arguments and disputes. Hence, to attract attention of a wider physics community, in this paper various old and new aspects of quantum interpretations are explained in a concise and simple (almost trivial) form. About the "Copenhagen" interpretation, we note that there are several different versions of it and explain how to make sense of "local non-reality" interpretation. About the many-world interpretation, we explain that it is neither local nor non-local, that it cannot explain the Born rule, that it suffers f…
The concept of "reality" is often raised in the context of philosophical foundations of physics or interpretations of quantum mechanics. When this term is so raised, it is a warning to me that I am about to be led down a rabbit hole. Such diversions usually lead nowhere unless you consider endless discussions of Schrodinger's cat, wave function collapse, quantum non-locality, and parallel universes to be useful. A prime example is the famous Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen paper wherein they concluded that the quantum wave function cannot provide a complete description of physical reality. In th…
Any successful interpretation of quantum mechanics must explain how our empirical evidence allows us to come to know about quantum mechanics. In this article, we argue that this vital criterion is not met by the class of 'orthodox interpretations,' which includes QBism, neo-Copenhagen interpretations, and some versions of relational quantum mechanics. We demonstrate that intersubjectivity fails in radical ways in these approaches, and we explain why intersubjectivity matters for empirical confirmation. We take a detailed look at the way in which belief-updating might work in the kind of univer…
This paper gives a thorough critique of the foundations of quantum physics in its mainstream interpretation (i.e., treating pure states as primitives, without reference to hidden variables, and without modifications of the quantum laws). This is achieved by cleanly separating a concise version of the (universally accepted) formal core of quantum physics from the (controversial) interpretation issues. The latter are primarily related to measurement, but also to questions of existence and of the meaning of basic concepts like 'state' and 'particle'. The requirements for good foundations of quant…
