dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe Wave Function: It or Bit?
| Authors | H. D. Zeh |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0204088 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0204088 |
| Journal | Science and Ultimate Reality, J.D. Barrow, P.C.W. Davies, and C.L. Harper Jr., edts. (Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 103-120 |
Abstract
Schroedinger's wave function shows many aspects of a state of incomplete knowledge or information ("bit"): (1) it is usually defined on a space of classical configurations, (2) its generic entanglement is, therefore, analogous to statistical correlations, and (3) it determines probabilities of measurement outcomes. Nonetheless, quantum superpositions (such as represented by a wave function) define individual physical states ("it"). This conceptual dilemma may have its origin in the conventional operational foundation of physical concepts, successful in classical physics, but inappropriate in quantum theory because of the existence of mutually exclusive operations (used for the definition of concepts). In contrast, a hypothetical realism, based on concepts that are justified only by their universal and consistent applicability, favors the wave function as a description of (thus nonlocal) physical reality. The (conceptually local) classical world then appears as an illusion, facilitated by the phenomenon of decoherence, which is consistently explained by the very entanglement that must dynamically arise in a universal wave function.
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"abstract": "Schroedinger\u0027s wave function shows many aspects of a state of incomplete\nknowledge or information (\"bit\"): (1) it is usually defined on a space of\nclassical configurations, (2) its generic entanglement is, therefore, analogous\nto statistical correlations, and (3) it determines probabilities of measurement\noutcomes. Nonetheless, quantum superpositions (such as represented by a wave\nfunction) define individual physical states (\"it\"). This conceptual dilemma may\nhave its origin in the conventional operational foundation of physical\nconcepts, successful in classical physics, but inappropriate in quantum theory\nbecause of the existence of mutually exclusive operations (used for the\ndefinition of concepts). In contrast, a hypothetical realism, based on concepts\nthat are justified only by their universal and consistent applicability, favors\nthe wave function as a description of (thus nonlocal) physical reality. The\n(conceptually local) classical world then appears as an illusion, facilitated\nby the phenomenon of decoherence, which is consistently explained by the very\nentanglement that must dynamically arise in a universal wave function.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0204088",
"authors": [
"H. D. Zeh"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph",
"gr-qc",
"physics.ed-ph",
"physics.pop-ph"
],
"journal_ref": "Science and Ultimate Reality, J.D. Barrow, P.C.W. Davies, and C.L.\n Harper Jr., edts. (Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 103-120",
"title": "The Wave Function: It or Bit?",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0204088"
},
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