dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe density matrix in the de Broglie-Bohm approach
| Authors | O. J. E. Maroney |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0311149 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0311149 |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10701-004-1985-7 |
| Journal | Foundations of Physics Vol 35 no 3 pp. 493-510 (2005) |
Abstract
If the density matrix is treated as an objective description of individual systems, it may become possible to attribute the same objective significance to statistical mechanical properties, such as entropy or temperature, as to properties such as mass or energy. It is shown that the de Broglie-Bohm interpretation of quantum theory can be consistently applied to density matrices as a description of individual systems. The resultant trajectories are examined for the case of the delayed choice interferometer, for which Bell appears to suggest that such an interpretation is not possible. Bell's argument is shown to be based upon a different understanding of the density matrix to that proposed here.
{
"annotation_id": "eefddde5-6ea5-47f0-961e-14f28ceaf80c",
"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:02:02.867000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:02:02.867000Z",
"file_hash": "7afd041c280d3262181bc71a8cb40597a7d78cdae4bbcaf5492d9381dc6e0dc8",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "If the density matrix is treated as an objective description of individual\nsystems, it may become possible to attribute the same objective significance to\nstatistical mechanical properties, such as entropy or temperature, as to\nproperties such as mass or energy. It is shown that the de Broglie-Bohm\ninterpretation of quantum theory can be consistently applied to density\nmatrices as a description of individual systems. The resultant trajectories are\nexamined for the case of the delayed choice interferometer, for which Bell\nappears to suggest that such an interpretation is not possible. Bell\u0027s argument\nis shown to be based upon a different understanding of the density matrix to\nthat proposed here.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0311149",
"authors": [
"O. J. E. Maroney"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1007/s10701-004-1985-7",
"journal_ref": "Foundations of Physics Vol 35 no 3 pp. 493-510 (2005)",
"title": "The density matrix in the de Broglie-Bohm approach",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0311149"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "dab7aed8-90e6-4ac9-b51d-30f23d5870f1",
"id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}