Interpretations
of Quantum Theory| Interpretations
of Quantum Theory |
In General > s.a. foundations and history
of quantum
mechanics; Interpretation of a Theory; quantum
computing.
* Idea: Provide an answer
to the question, How can the world be for quantum theory to be true?
@ General references: Margenau PT(54)oct
[comparison];
DeWitt & Graham AJP(71)jul-RL;
Whitaker & Singh JPA(82);
McCarthy & Weigold AJP(83)feb;
Görnitz & von Weizsäcker IJTP(87)
[comparison]; Dieks Syn(91);
Mermin Pra(98)qp/96;
Svozil qp/02;
Hartle qp/03-in
[connections]; Neumaier qp/05 [challenge];
Pearle & Valentini qp/05-in
[realist, rev]; Putnam BJPS(05)
[classification, and exclusion of Copenhagen and many-worlds]; Vermaas BJPS(05)
[conditions]; Kitajima IJTP(05)
[in terms of beable algebras]; Berche et al phy/06 [history];
Rau qp/06;
Marchildon qp/06-in
[rev]; Lazarou a0712;
Grinbaum PhSc(07)dec
[vs reconstruction]; Marchildon a0902-in; Ghirardi
a0904; > s.a. mixed
states.
@ Points of view: Ballentine AJP(72)dec,
Deltete & Guy AJP(90)jul
[Einstein's];
Pippard EJP(86)
[wave function reduction just bookkeeping procedure]; Fuchs & Peres PT(00)mar,
Skála & Kapsa qp/04 [no
interpretation needed];
Dennis & Norsen qp/04 [unavoidable];
Blood a0910.
Standard (Copenhagen) # Bohr; Summary-motto "Quantum
mechanics is correct; Nature is not crazy; So quantum mechanics is not crazy".
* Idea: A pure state
provides a complete and exhaustive description of an individual system, that
is expressed in a probabilistic form; When we
make
a measurement, the wave function collapses on an eigenstate of the measured
quantity with eigenvalue equal to the value obtained.
@ General references: in Messiah 62; de Broglie 64; Hall AJP(65)aug;
Stapp AJP(72)aug,
comment Ballentine AJP(74)jan,
reply Stapp AJP(74)jan;
in Peierls 79; Lahti & Mittelstaedt
ed-87; Santos FP(91)
[realism, hidden variables, and Bell inequalities]; Cushing 94 [history]; Kober
a0905 [philosophical].
@ Points of view: Wheeler in(86) [weak
realism]; Beller PhSc(96)jun
[against anti-realism]; Shi AdP(00)qp/98 [against];
de Muynck a0710-in
[limitations, and 'neo-Copenhagen']; Schmelzer a0909 [problem with the symmetry
group of a quantum theory].
@ Related topics: Gillespie AJP(89)dec;
Stuart FP(91),
Diósi qp/99-in
[modified]; in Sorkin IJTP(97)gq;
Peres SHPMP(02)qp/99 [vs
Popper]; Kiefer qp/02-in
[and decoherence]; de Muynck FP(04)qp/03 [neo-Copenhagen];
Howard PhSc(04)dec
[historical development]; Lokajicek qp/06 [criticism
of supporting arguments], a0711 [vs
hidden varables]; Ghirardi et al PRA(07)qp [re
experiment to test it]; Gomatam PhSc(07)dec
[vs Bohr's].
Statistical (Ensemble) > s.a. foundations [single system].
* Idea: A state describes an ensemble of equally prepared systems,
not an individual one.
* Advantages: The most "sober" one;
It does not require a wave-function collapse, and admits that quantum mechanics
may be "completed".
@ General references: Kemble PR(35);
Einstein in(49); Margenau PhSc(63);
Pearle AJP(67)aug;
Ballentine RMP(70);
Krips AJP(75)may;
Newton AJP(80)dec;
Pais Sci(82)dec;
Kunstatter & Trainor AJP(84)jul,
Gillespie AJP(86)oct
[simple ensemble interpretation untenable]; Tschudi HPA(87);
Ballentine IJTP(88);
Bohm & Hiley PRP(89);
Home & Whitaker PLA(91)
[and København],
PRP(92);
Gottfried qp/98;
Mielnik FP(94)
["problem"]; Shirai FP(99);
Whitaker FP(08)
[re Bell and Gottfried].
@ Related topics: Merli et al AJP(76)mar
[e interference]; Home & Whitaker PLA(86)
[and context-dependence]; Sanctuary qp/04 [entangled
states].
Other Interpretations > s.a. fluctuation;
formalisms [hydrodynamic]; information;
many worlds; time
in quantum theory [real clocks and conditional
probability interpretation].
* Interactive: Intermediate
between København and hidden variables; Holistic;
Observation does not have a preferred role.
* Stochastic: The quantum behavior is a consequence of an unspecified
stochastic process affecting the system.
* Montevideo interpretation: The
quantum-to-classical transition is achieved via a phenomenon called "undecidability" which
stems from environmental decoherence, supplemented with a fundamental mechanism
of loss of coherence due to gravity.
@ Stochastic: Fényes ZP(52); Bohm & Vigier PR(54);
de la Peña-Auerbach & García-Colín JMP(68),
JMP(68); Ghirardi et al RNC(78)
[rev]; Cufaro Petroni et al LNC(81)
[causality]; Nelson 85; Smolin in(86); Bohm & Hiley PRP(89);
Cufaro Petroni PLA(89)
[and quantum interference], PLA(91); > s.a. stochastic
quantization.
@ Co-event interpretation: Ghazi-Tabatabai & Wallden JPA(09)-a0901 [dynamics
and prediction]
@ Other: Stapp PRD(71)
[S-matrix]; Kochen in(85), pr(88),
Peres AJP(84)jul
[a state vector is just a preparation]; Lahti IJTP(90)
[witnessing]; Healey 89 [interactive]; Lockwood BJPS(96)
["many minds"]; Ruebenacker qp/02-wd
[Amherst]; Carter IJTP(04)ht
[anthropic]; Mweene qp/04 [Landé's
interpretation]; Kent a0708 [real
world interpretation]; Jansson a0801;
Bächtold FP(08)
[pragmatist approach]; Gambini & Pullin JPCS(09)-a0905
[Montevideo interpretation].
Modal Interpretation > s.a. many-worlds
interpretation; quantum
measurement.
* Idea: (Kochen, Dieks,
...) A realistic interpretation without the world view of classical mechanics;
Quantum mechanics does not provide
an account of what 'actually is the case', but rather deals with what 'might
be the case', i.e., with possibilities; It abandons the eigenstate-eigenvalue
rule of standard quantum
mechanics to avoid
the measurement problem without introducing hidden variables; Collapse
corresponds to a change from discussing the theoretical state of a system (which
specifies
probability distributions) to discussing the physical state (which
assigns values to observables).
@ Books, reviews: van Fraassen 91; Dieks & Vermaas ed-98; Vermaas
00.
@ General references: Dieks FP(89),
PLA(95);
Clifton BJPS(95)
[motivation], BJPS(96)
[properties]; Dickson BJPS(95)
[and projection postulate]; Vermaas & Dieks FP(95);
Vermaas PRL(97);
Zimba & Clifton
in(98)qp;
Bacciagaluppi & Dickson FP(99)
[dynamics]; Bacciagaluppi FP(00);
Spekkens & Sipe qp/00;
Lombardi & Castagnino SHPMP(08)-qp/06
[modal-Hamiltonian]; Dieks SHPMP(07)qp [probabilities];
Domenech et al a0705/SHPMP
[contextual character]; Ardenghi et al FP(09) [and Galilean transformations].
@ Classical, macroscopic behavior: Bene qp/01;
Bene & Dieks FP(02)qp/01.
@ Difficulties: Leeds & Healey PhSc(96)mar;
Myrvold FP(02)qp,
Berkovitz
& Hemmo FP(05),
PhSc(05)dec,
Earman & Ruetsche PhSc(05)oct
[Lorentz invariance].
@ In quantum field theory: Dieks PLA(00)qp/99 [and
consistent histories]; Clifton PLA(00)qp;
Bene qp/01;
Kitajima PLA(04)
[algebraic]; Myrvold BJPS(09) [difficulties].
@ Other extensions: Nakayama IJTP(08)-a0711 [topos-theoretic].
Other Realist Interpretations > s.a. Beables; hidden
variables;
pilot-wave interpretation.
* Transactional: A realistic,
non-local interpretation.
@ Transactional: Cramer RMP(86), IJTP(88);
Garrett FP(90);
Chiatti FP(95);
Kastner Syn(06)qp/04 [avoiding
the inconsistency charge]; Marchildon PE-qp/06;
Kastner SHPMP(08)
[counterfactuals and weak values]; Kastner a0906 [quantum liar experiment]; > s.a time
in quantum mechanics.
@ Pondicherry: Mohrhoff AJP(00)aug-qp/99;
Marchildon FP(04)qp/03;
Mohrhoff FP(04)qp/03,
Pra(05)qp/04;
Shafiee et al SHPMP(06)
[critique], reply Mohrhoff qp/06.
@ Other interpretations: Khrennikov qp/02-in,
Fuchs qp/02,
Khrennikov qp/04 [Växjö];
Hájícek & Tolar FP(09)-a0806;
Tsekov a0904 [Madelung
quantum hydrodynamics, vs pilot-wave theory].
@ Contextual / non-local: Wiener & Siegel PR(53);
Gudder JMP(70);
Vujicic et al JPA(94);
Sant'Anna qp/98.
@ Local: Jongejan qp/00 [curved
spacetime as hidden variable]; Kent in(02)qp [probabilistic];
Lan IJTP(08)qp/03,
JRLR(05)qp/03,
JRLR(07)-a0810; Palge & Konrad SHPMP(08)
[information-based, Bayesian approach]; Suarez FP(08)
[re Leggett models].
@ Relational [no absolute state]: Rovelli; Laudisa FPL(01)qp/00 [EPR
and special relativity].
"Shut up and calculate" – attributed to R Feynman [but see Mermin PT(04)may]
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oct 2009