Realism and instrumentalism about the wave function: how should we choose?

Dorato, Mauro; Laudisa, Federico

doi:10.1017/cbo9781107706927.010

Cited by 4 publications

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“…Among the most debated issues in the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics, the interpretation of the wave function occupies a central place (Dorato and Laudisa, 2015).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mathematical Description of a Generic Physical System

Zalamea

2015

Topoi

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Abstract. When dealing with a certain class of physical systems, the mathematical characterization of a generic system aims to describe the phase portrait of all its possible states. Because they are defined only up to isomorphism, the mathematical objects involved are "schematic structures". If one imposes the condition that these mathematical definitions completely capture the physical information of a given system, one is led to a strong requirement of individuation for physical states. However, we show there are not enough qualitatively distinct properties in an abstract Hilbert space to fulfill such a requirement. It thus appears there is a fundamental tension between the physicist's purpose in providing a mathematical definition of a mechanical system and a feature of the basic formalism used in the theory. We will show how group theory provides tools to overcome this tension and to define physical properties.

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“…Among the most debated issues in the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics, the interpretation of the wave function occupies a central place (Dorato and Laudisa, 2015).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mathematical Description of a Generic Physical System

Zalamea

2015

Topoi

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“…According to the existing ψ-ontology theorems such as the Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph theorem, which are based on an analysis of projective measurements, the efficacy of the ontic state of a physical system is to determine the probabilities for different results of a projective measurement on the system. It seems that such efficacy says little about what the ontic state of a physical system is (see also Dorato and Laudisa, 2014). Moreover, whether the efficacy exists or not also depends on the solutions to the measurement problem, e.g.…”

Section: The Ontology Of Quantum Mechanics (I)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Meaning of the Wave Function: In Search of the Ontology of Quantum Mechanics

Gao

2016

Preprint

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This book is dedicated to Erwin Schrödinger, who introduced the wave function, discovered the equation named after him, and had been attempting to find the ontology of quantum mechanics throughout the rest of his life. ContentsList of illustrations page viii Preface 1 Quantum mechanics and experience 1.1 The mathematical formalism 1.2 The Born rule 1.3 A definite connection with experience 2 The wave function: ontic vs epistemic 2.1 There is an underlying reality 2.2 The ψ-epistemic view 2.2.1 Multidimensionality 2.2.2 Collapse of the wave function 2.2.3 Indistinguishability of nonorthogonal states 2.2.4 The eigenvalue-eigenstate half link 2.3 ψ-ontology theorems 2.3.1 The ontological models framework 2.3.2 Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph theorem 2.3.3 Hardy's theorem 3 The nomological view 3.1 The effective wave function 3.2 The universal wave function as law 3.3 A critical analysis 4 Reality of the wave function 4.1 Ontological models framework extended 4.2 A new proof in terms of protective measurements 4.3 With more strength 4.4 A weaker criterion of reality Contents v 5 Origin of the Schrödinger equation 5.1 Spacetime translation invariance 5.2 The energy-momentum relation 5.3 Derivation of the Schrödinger equation 5.4 Further discussion 6 The ontology of quantum mechanics (I) 6.1 Schrödinger's charge density hypothesis 6.2 Is an electron a charge cloud? 6.2.1 Two simple examples 6.2.2 The answer of protective measurement 6.3 The origin of charge density 6.3.1 Electrons are particles 6.3.2 The motion of a particle is discontinuous 6.3.3 An argument for random discontinuous motion 6.4 Further discussion 7 The ontology of quantum mechanics (II) 7.1 Wave function realism? 7.2 A new ontological analysis of the wave function 7.2.1 Understanding configuration space 7.2.2 Understanding subsystems 7.2.3 Understanding entangled states 7.3 The wave function as a description of random discontinuous motion of particles 7.3.1 A mathematical viewpoint 7.3.2 Describing random discontinuous motion of particles 7.3.3 Interpreting the wave function 7.3.4 On momentum, energy and spin 7.4 Similar pictures of motion through history 7.4.1 Epicurus's atomic swerve and Al-Nazzam's leap motion 7.4.2 Bohr's discontinuous quantum jumps 7.4.3 Schrödinger's snapshot description 7.4.4 Bell's Everett (?) theory 8 Implications for solving the measurement problem 8.1 The measurement problem revisited 8.1.1 A new formulation 8.1.2 Everett's theory 8.1.3 Bohm's theory 8.1.4 Collapse theories vi Contents 8.2 Can RDM of particles directly solve the measurement problem? 8.3 The origin of the Born probabilities 8.3.1 Everett's theory 8.3.2 Bohm's theory 8.3.3 Collapse theories 8.4 A model of wavefunction collapse in terms of RDM of particles 8.4.1 The chooser in discrete time 8.4.2 Energy conservation and the choices 8.4.3 A discrete model of energy-conserved wavefunction collapse 8.4.4 On the consistency of the model and experiments 8.4.5 In search of a deeper basis 8.5 An analysis of other collapse models 8.5.1 Penrose's gravity-induced collapse model 8....

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“…However this replies raises at least two additional worries. 22 It is true that in philosophy, as well in other disciplines, we must start from somewhere: the explanatory consequences of taking a notion N as primitive legitimate the choice of N. However, unlike what happens in mathematics -where one often relies on axioms giving an implicit definition of whatever other concept appears in them -in philosophy, when we do not understand N, 22 For the following objections, see Dorato and Esfeld (2015) and Dorato and Laudisa (2015).…”

Section: The Wave Function As a Nomological Entity: The First Way Of ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Laws of nature and the reality of the wave function

Dorato¹

2015

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One of the words of the philosophical jargon that generate more incomprehension between physicists and philosophers of physics is "realism". Even when theoretical physicists are sensitive to the conceptual problems of quantum mechanics -for instance by recognizing that the lack of a quantum theory of measurement is a serious problem -they typically display indifference about the problem of determining the ontological status of the wave function.2 On the contrary, in the philosophical debates the attempt to understand its role in the interpretation of quantum mechanics is central. Why is there this difference between the two communities?The physicists' skeptical attitude depends, at least in part, on their instinctive mistrust of philosophical debates concerning "-isms", especially when they are applied in a generic way to all scientific knowledge. Furthermore, physicists are usually not trained to ask themselves why the algorithms that they use work as efficiently as they do, so that the "shut up and calculate" attitude prevails. This fact creates the conviction that the predictive use of mathematical models of phenomena (Schrödinger's equation included) exhausts their meaning, so that their apparent and explicit agnosticism about the status of Ψ often borders with an unreflectively defended, implicit form of instrumentalism. In the case of quantum theory, the physicists' approach has been reinforced by well-known historical and sociological reasons that here are superfluous to recall. 3 As a consequence, significant connections between the often-acknowledged importance of the measurement problem and related issues about the nature of the wave function escape them.On the contrary, philosophers of quantum mechanics have correctly stressed the importance of such connections, but have defended different opinions on the ontological status the wave function Ψ: is it a bookkeeping device or it denotes an entity of some sort? And, in the latter 1 Thanks to Albert Solé and to two other anonymous referee for their comments and criticism. 2 Of course, this neglect is compatible with a natural ontological attitude towards endorsing the existence of elementary particles (Fine 1984). 3 Born's original attitude towards his own rule explicitly mentioned probability of measurement outcomes, a claim that in turn depended on Bohr's view that in quantum physics measurement is a primitive and fundamental notion. See Cushing (1994).

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Realism and instrumentalism about the wave function: how should we choose?

Cited by 4 publications

References 34 publications

The Mathematical Description of a Generic Physical System

The Mathematical Description of a Generic Physical System

The Meaning of the Wave Function: In Search of the Ontology of Quantum Mechanics

Laws of nature and the reality of the wave function

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