421 research outputs found
Bell's Theorem and Chemical Potential
Chemical potential is a property which involves the effect of interaction
between the components of a system, and it results from the whole system. In
this paper, we argue that for two particles which have interacted via their
spins and are now spatially separated, the so-called Bell's locality condition
implies that the chemical potential of each particle is an individual property.
Here is a point where quantum statistical mechanics and the local hidden
variable theories are in conflict. Based on two distinct concepts of chemical
potential, the two theories predict two different patterns for the energy
levels of a system of two entangled particles. In this manner, we show how one
can distinguish the non-separable features of a two-particle system.Comment: 11 pages,1 figure, To appear in J. Phy. A: Math. Gen., Special Issue:
Foundations of Quantum Theor
Non-Locality and Theories of Causation
The aim of the paper is to investigate the characterization of an unambiguous
notion of causation linking single space-llike separated events in EPR-Bell
frameworks. This issue is investigated in ordinary quantum mechanics, with some
hints to no collapse formulations of the theory such as Bohmian mechanics.Comment: Presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Modality,
Probability and Bell's Theorems, Cracow, Poland, August 19-23, 200
The Immanent Contingency of Physical Laws in Leibnizâs Dynamics
This paper focuses on Leibnizâs conception of modality and its application to the issue of natural laws. The core of Leibnizâs investigation of the modality of natural laws lays in the distinction between necessary, geometrical laws on the one hand, and contingent, physical laws of nature on the other. For Leibniz, the contingency of physical laws entailed the assumption of the existence of an additional form of causality beyond mechanical or efficient ones. While geometrical truths, being necessary, do not require the use of the principle of sufficient reason, physical laws are not strictly determined by geometry and therefore are logically distinct from geometrical laws. As a consequence, the set of laws that regulate the physical laws could have been created otherwise by God. However, in addition to this, the contingency of natural laws does not consist only in the fact that God has chosen them over other possible ones. On the contrary, Leibniz understood the status of natural laws as arising from the action internal to physical substances. Hence the actuality of physical laws results from a causal power that is inherent to substances rather than being the mere consequence of the way God arranged the relations between physical objects. Focusing on three instances of Leibnizâs treatment of contingency in physics, this paper argues that, in order to account for the contingency of physical laws, Leibniz maintained that final causes, in addition to efficient and mechanical ones, must operate in physical processes and operations
How much measurement independence is needed in order to demonstrate nonlocality?
If nonlocality is to be inferred from a violation of Bell's inequality, an
important assumption is that the measurement settings are freely chosen by the
observers, or alternatively, that they are random and uncorrelated with the
hypothetical local variables. We study the case where this assumption is
weakened, so that measurement settings and local variables are at least
partially correlated. As we show, there is a connection between this type of
model and models which reproduce nonlocal correlations by allowing classical
communication between the distant parties, and a connection with models that
exploit the detection loophole. We show that even if Bob's choices are
completely independent, all correlations obtained from projective measurements
on a singlet can be reproduced, with the correlation (measured by mutual
information) between Alice's choice and local variables less than or equal to a
single bit.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. v2 Various improvements in presentation. Results
unchange
Causarum Investigatio and the Two Bell's Theorems of John Bell
"Bell's theorem" can refer to two different theorems that John Bell proved,
the first in 1964 and the second in 1976. His 1964 theorem is the
incompatibility of quantum phenomena with the joint assumptions of Locality and
Predetermination. His 1976 theorem is their incompatibility with the single
property of Local Causality. This is contrary to Bell's own later assertions,
that his 1964 theorem began with the assumption of Local Causality, even if not
by that name. Although the two Bell's theorems are logically equivalent, their
assumptions are not. Hence, the earlier and later theorems suggest quite
different conclusions, embraced by operationalists and realists, respectively.
The key issue is whether Locality or Local Causality is the appropriate notion
emanating from Relativistic Causality, and this rests on one's basic notion of
causation. For operationalists the appropriate notion is what is here called
the Principle of Agent-Causation, while for realists it is Reichenbach's
Principle of common cause. By breaking down the latter into even more basic
Postulates, it is possible to obtain a version of Bell's theorem in which each
camp could reject one assumption, happy that the remaining assumptions reflect
its weltanschauung. Formulating Bell's theorem in terms of causation is
fruitful not just for attempting to reconcile the two camps, but also for
better describing the ontology of different quantum interpretations and for
more deeply understanding the implications of Bell's marvellous work.Comment: 24 pages. Prepared for proceedings of the "Quantum [Un]speakables II"
conference (Vienna, 2014), to be published by Springe
Non-realism : deep thought or a soft option ?
The claim that the observation of a violation of a Bell inequality leads to
an alleged alternative between nonlocality and non-realism is annoying because
of the vagueness of the second term.Comment: 5 page
The Communication Cost of Simulating Bell Correlations
What classical resources are required to simulate quantum correlations? For
the simplest and most important case of local projective measurements on an
entangled Bell pair state, we show that exact simulation is possible using
local hidden variables augmented by just one bit of classical communication.
Certain quantum teleportation experiments, which teleport a single qubit,
therefore admit a local hidden variables model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; reference adde
Duality and ontology
A âdualityâ is a formal mapping between the spaces of solutions of two empirically equivalent theories. In recent times, dualities have been found to be pervasive in string theory and quantum field theory. NaĂŻvely interpreted, duality-related theories appear to make very different ontological claims about the worldâdiffering in e.g. space-time structure, fundamental ontology, and mereological structure. In light of this, duality-related theories raise questions familiar from discussions of underdetermination in the philosophy of science: in the presence of dual theories, what is one to say about the ontology of the world? In this paper, we undertake a comprehensive and non-technical survey of the landscape of possible ontological interpretations of duality-related theories. We provide a significantly enriched and clarified taxonomy of optionsâseveral of which are novel to the literature
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