scholarly journals The Problem with the "Measurement Problem"

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ali

This paper argues that the “Measurement Problem” is foundationally moot using the abstraction of “Color Guessing Game”. It has been reasoned that the preferred question to ask is, once taken the measurement, what is the certainty that the measured physical state of quantum system is the original intended state governed by absolute laws of nature. The certainty of the measured state |𝜙𝑘〉 of the physical system with wave function |𝜓〉=Σ𝑐𝑖|𝜙𝑖〉𝑖 being the original intended state is given by 𝑃(|𝜙𝑘〉)𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑦=|𝑐𝑘|2Σ|𝑐𝑖|2𝑖∙[|𝑐𝑘|2Σ|𝑐𝑗|2𝑗]𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, given that the measurement probe’s wave function interaction with |𝜓〉 is unknown. It has been argued that measured state’s interactions with other quantum system corresponds to classical reality, which can be changed by the act of measurement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ali

Abstract This paper argues that the “Measurement Problem” is foundationally moot, using the abstraction of “Color Guessing Game”. It has been reasoned that the preferred question to ask is, once taken the measurement, what is the certainty that the measured physical state of quantum system is the original intended state governed by absolute laws of nature. The certainty of the measured state [[EQUATION]] of the physical system with wave function [[EQUATION]] being the original intended state is given by [[EQUATION]], given that the measurement probe’s wave function interaction with[[EQUATION]] is unknown. It has been argued that measured state’s interactions with other quantum system corresponds to classical reality, which can be changed by the act of measurement.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasil Dinev Penchev

The concept of quantum information is introduced as both normed superposition of two orthogonal subspaces of the separable complex Hilbert space and invariance of Hamilton and Lagrange representation of any mechanical system. The base is the isomorphism of the standard introduction and the representation of a qubit to a 3D unit ball, in which two points are chosen.The separable complex Hilbert space is considered as the free variable of quantum information and any point in it (a wave function describing a state of a quantum system) as its value as the bound variable.A qubit is equivalent to the generalization of ‘bit’ from the set of two equally probable alternatives to an infinite set of alternatives. Then, that Hilbert space is considered as a generalization of Peano arithmetic where any unit is substituted by a qubit and thus the set of natural number is mappable within any qubit as the complex internal structure of the unit or a different state of it. Thus, any mathematical structure being reducible to set theory is representable as a set of wave functions and a subspace of the separable complex Hilbert space, and it can be identified as the category of all categories for any functor represents an operator transforming a set (or subspace) of the separable complex Hilbert space into another. Thus, category theory is isomorphic to the Hilbert-space representation of set theory & Peano arithmetic as above.Given any value of quantum information, i.e. a point in the separable complex Hilbert space, it always admits two equally acceptable interpretations: the one is physical, the other is mathematical. The former is a wave function as the exhausted description of a certain state of a certain quantum system. The latter chooses a certain mathematical structure among a certain category. Thus there is no way to be distinguished a mathematical structure from a physical state for both are described exhaustedly as a value of quantum information. This statement in turn can be utilized to be defined quantum information by the identity of any mathematical structure to a physical state, and also vice versa. Further, that definition is equivalent to both standard definition as the normed superposition and invariance of Hamilton and Lagrange interpretation of mechanical motion introduced in the beginning of the paper.Then, the concept of information symmetry can be involved as the symmetry between three elements or two pairs of elements: Lagrange representation and each counterpart of the pair of Hamilton representation. The sense and meaning of information symmetry may be visualized by a single (quantum) bit and its interpretation as both (privileged) reference frame and the symmetries 𝑈𝑈(1), 𝑆𝑆𝑆 (2), and 𝑆𝑆𝑆 (3) of the Standard model.


Author(s):  
David Wallace

Decoherence is widely felt to have something to do with the quantum measurement problem, but getting clear on just what is made difficult by the fact that the ‘measurement problem’, as traditionally presented in foundational and philosophical discussions, has become somewhat disconnected from the conceptual problems posed by real physics. This, in turn, is because quantum mechanics as discussed in textbooks and in foundational discussions has become somewhat removed from scientific practice, especially where the analysis of measurement is concerned. This paper has two goals: firstly (§§1–2), to present an account of how quantum measurements are actually dealt with in modern physics (hint: it does not involve a collapse of the wave function) and to state the measurement problem from the perspective of that account; and secondly (§§3–4), to clarify what role decoherence plays in modern measurement theory and what effect it has on the various strategies that have been proposed to solve the measurement problem.


2015 ◽  
Vol 342 (3) ◽  
pp. 965-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheldon Goldstein ◽  
Joel L. Lebowitz ◽  
Christian Mastrodonato ◽  
Roderich Tumulka ◽  
Nino Zanghì

Author(s):  
Alberto Rimini

This extended note deals with a pedagogical description of the entangled state of two particles, starting from first principles. After some general remarks about quantum mechanics and physical theories, the single particle case is discussed by defining state, uncertainty relations and wave function in the state space. The system of two particles is then considered, with its possible states, starting from the original papers by Einstein Podolsky Rosen and by Schroedinger. The quantum measurement problem is then introduced, together with its role in the entanglement state. Finally the orthodox solution and the relevant conclusions are drawn.


Author(s):  
Joaquin Trujillo

The articles provides a phenomenological reading of the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics and its answer to the measurement problem, or the question of “why only one of a wave function’s probable values is observed when the system is measured.” Transcendental-phenomenological and hermeneutic-phenomenological approaches are employed. The project comprises four parts. Parts one and two review MWI and the standard (Copenhagen) interpretation of quantum mechanics. Part three reviews the phenomenologies. Part four deconstructs the hermeneutics of MWI. It agrees with the confidence the theory derives from its (1) unforgiving appropriation of the Schrödinger equation and (2) association of branching universes with the evolution of the wave function insofar as that understanding comes from the formalism itself. Part four also reveals the hermeneutical shortcomings of the standard interpretation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Daegene Song

It has been suggested that the locality of information transfer in quantum entanglement indicates that reality is subjective, meaning that there is an innate inseparability between the physical system being observed and the conscious mind of the observer. This paper attempts to outline the relation between macroscopic and microscopic worlds in the measurement process in regards to whether observation creates reality. Indeed, the Maxwell's demon thought experiment suggests a correlation between a microscopic (quantum) system and a macroscopic (classical) apparatus, which leads to an energy transfer from the quantum vacuum to the physical world, similar to particle creation from a vacuum. This explanation shows that observation in quantum theory conserves, rather than creates, energy.


1991 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu. A. Kuperin ◽  
S. P. Merkuriev ◽  
E. A. Yarevsky

2019 ◽  
pp. 91-174
Author(s):  
P.J.E. Peebles

This chapter develops the wave mechanics formalism. The emphasis here is on symmetries and conservation laws: parity, linear and angular momentum, and the electromagnetic interaction. The only specific physical application is the completion of the study of an isolated hydrogen atom, with some discussion of the motion of a particle in a magnetic field. The chapter also outlines the general assumptions of quantum wave mechanics, which may be summarized as follows: the state of a physical system is represented by a wave function and each measurable attribute of the system is represented by a linear self-adjoint operator in the space of functions. To apply these general assumptions to a given physical system, one must give a specific prescription for the observables and their algebra, and one must adopt a definite form for the Hamiltonians as a function of the observables.


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