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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Reformulating Bell's Theorem: The Search For A Truly Local Quantum Theory, Mordecai Waegell, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Reformulating Bell's Theorem: The Search For A Truly Local Quantum Theory, Mordecai Waegell, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
The apparent nonlocality of quantum theory has been a persistent concern. Einstein et al. (1935) and Bell (1964) emphasized the apparent nonlocality arising from entanglement correlations. While some interpretations embrace this nonlocality, modern variations of the Everett-inspired many worlds interpretation try to circumvent it. In this paper, we review Bell's “no-go” theorem and explain how it rests on three axioms, local causality, no superdeterminism, and one world. Although Bell is often taken to have shown that local causality is ruled out by the experimentally confirmed entanglement correlations, we make clear that it is the conjunction of the …
In Defence Of The Self-Location Uncertainty Account Of Probability In The Many-Worlds Interpretation, Kelvin J. Mcqueen, Lev Vaidman
In Defence Of The Self-Location Uncertainty Account Of Probability In The Many-Worlds Interpretation, Kelvin J. Mcqueen, Lev Vaidman
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
We defend the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics (MWI) against the objection that it cannot explain why measurement outcomes are predicted by the Born probability rule. We understand quantum probabilities in terms of an observer's self-location probabilities. We formulate a probability postulate for the MWI: the probability of self-location in a world with a given set of outcomes is the absolute square of that world's amplitude. We provide a proof of this postulate, which assumes the quantum formalism and two principles concerning symmetry and locality. We also show how a structurally similar proof of the Born rule is available for …
Is Qbism The Future Of Quantum Physics?, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Is Qbism The Future Of Quantum Physics?, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
A review of Hans Christian von Baeyer’s QBism: The Future of Quantum Physics.
Four Tails Problems For Dynamical Collapse Theories, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Four Tails Problems For Dynamical Collapse Theories, Kelvin J. Mcqueen
Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research
The primary quantum mechanical equation of motion entails that measurements typically do not have determinate outcomes, but result in superpositions of all possible outcomes. Dynamical collapse theories (e.g. GRW) supplement this equation with a stochastic Gaussian collapse function, intended to collapse the superposition of outcomes into one outcome. But the Gaussian collapses are imperfect in a way that leaves the superpositions intact. This is the tails problem. There are several ways of making this problem more precise. But many authors dismiss the problem without considering the more severe formulations. Here I distinguish four distinct tails problems. The first (bare tails …