dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaBell's Theorem Without Hidden Variables
| Authors | Henry P. Stapp |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0010047 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0010047 |
Abstract
Experiments motivated by Bell's theorem have led some physicists to conclude that quantum theory is nonlocal. However, the theoretical basis for such claims is usually taken to be Bell's Theorem, which shows only that if certain predictions of quantum theory are correct, and a strong hidden-variable assumption is valid, then a certain locality condition must fail. This locality condition expresses the idea that what an experimenter freely chooses to measure in one spacetime region can have no effect of any kind in a second region situated spacelike relative to the first. The experimental results conform closely to the predictions of quantum theory in such cases, but the most reasonable conclusion to draw is not that locality fails, but rather that the hidden-variable assumption is false. For this assumption conflicts with the quantum precept that unperformed experiments have no outcomes. The present paper deduces the failure of this locality condition directly from the precepts of quantum theory themselves, in a way that generates no inconsistency or any conflict with the predictions of relativistic quantum field theory.
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"abstract": "Experiments motivated by Bell\u0027s theorem have led some physicists to conclude\nthat quantum theory is nonlocal. However, the theoretical basis for such claims\nis usually taken to be Bell\u0027s Theorem, which shows only that if certain\npredictions of quantum theory are correct, and a strong hidden-variable\nassumption is valid, then a certain locality condition must fail. This locality\ncondition expresses the idea that what an experimenter freely chooses to\nmeasure in one spacetime region can have no effect of any kind in a second\nregion situated spacelike relative to the first. The experimental results\nconform closely to the predictions of quantum theory in such cases, but the\nmost reasonable conclusion to draw is not that locality fails, but rather that\nthe hidden-variable assumption is false. For this assumption conflicts with the\nquantum precept that unperformed experiments have no outcomes. The present\npaper deduces the failure of this locality condition directly from the precepts\nof quantum theory themselves, in a way that generates no inconsistency or any\nconflict with the predictions of relativistic quantum field theory.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0010047",
"authors": [
"Henry P. Stapp"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"title": "Bell\u0027s Theorem Without Hidden Variables",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0010047"
},
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