17,912 research outputs found
Weak Quantum Theory: Complementarity and Entanglement in Physics and Beyond
The concepts of complementarity and entanglement are considered with respect
to their significance in and beyond physics. A formally generalized, weak
version of quantum theory, more general than ordinary quantum theory of
material systems, is outlined and tentatively applied to some examples.Comment: Revised version. Chapter 5.2 (old counting) omitted for separate
publication, chapter 5.2 (new counting) reformulate
The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: Psychological versus Physical Bases for the Multiplicity of "Worlds"
This unpublished 1990 preprint argues that a crucial distinction in discussions of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics (MWI) is that between versions of the interpretation positing a physical multiplicity of worlds, and those in which the multiplicity is merely psychological, and due to the splitting of consciousness upon interaction with amplified quantum superpositions. It is argued that Everett's original version of the MWI belongs to the latter class, and that most of the criticisms leveled against the MWI, in particular that it is illogical or incoherent, are not valid against such "psychological-multiplicity" versions. Attempts to derive the quantum-mechanical probabilities from the many-worlds interpretation are reviewed, and Everett's initial derivation is extended in an attempt to show that these are the unique possible probabilities. But there remains a challenge for proponents of the MWI: to show that their interpretation requires probabilities, rather than merely nonprobabilistic indeterminacy. A 2002 preface, revised in 2004, briefly discusses the extent to which I still agree with the claims in the paper. While its derivation of probabilities used, and failed to justify, noncontextuality, I still agree with the paper's general interpretation of the MWI, though not with the MWI itself
On the Foundations of the Brussels Operational-Realistic Approach to Cognition
The scientific community is becoming more and more interested in the research
that applies the mathematical formalism of quantum theory to model human
decision-making. In this paper, we provide the theoretical foundations of the
quantum approach to cognition that we developed in Brussels. These foundations
rest on the results of two decade studies on the axiomatic and
operational-realistic approaches to the foundations of quantum physics. The
deep analogies between the foundations of physics and cognition lead us to
investigate the validity of quantum theory as a general and unitary framework
for cognitive processes, and the empirical success of the Hilbert space models
derived by such investigation provides a strong theoretical confirmation of
this validity. However, two situations in the cognitive realm, 'question order
effects' and 'response replicability', indicate that even the Hilbert space
framework could be insufficient to reproduce the collected data. This does not
mean that the mentioned operational-realistic approach would be incorrect, but
simply that a larger class of measurements would be in force in human
cognition, so that an extended quantum formalism may be needed to deal with all
of them. As we will explain, the recently derived 'extended Bloch
representation' of quantum theory (and the associated 'general
tension-reduction' model) precisely provides such extended formalism, while
remaining within the same unitary interpretative framework.Comment: 21 page
A Potentiality and Conceptuality Interpretation of Quantum Physics
We elaborate on a new interpretation of quantum mechanics which we introduced
recently. The main hypothesis of this new interpretation is that quantum
particles are entities interacting with matter conceptually, which means that
pieces of matter function as interfaces for the conceptual content carried by
the quantum particles. We explain how our interpretation was inspired by our
earlier analysis of non-locality as non-spatiality and a specific
interpretation of quantum potentiality, which we illustrate by means of the
example of two interconnected vessels of water. We show by means of this
example that philosophical realism is not in contradiction with the recent
findings with respect to Leggett's inequalities and their violations. We
explain our recent work on using the quantum formalism to model human concepts
and their combinations and how this has given rise to the foundational ideas of
our new quantum interpretation. We analyze the equivalence of meaning in the
realm of human concepts and coherence in the realm of quantum particles, and
how the duality of abstract and concrete leads naturally to a Heisenberg
uncertainty relation. We illustrate the role played by interference and
entanglement and show how the new interpretation explains the problems related
to identity and individuality in quantum mechanics. We put forward a possible
scenario for the emergence of the reality of macroscopic objects.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur
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