Probing the meaning of quantum mechanics physical, philosophical and logical perspectives : proceeding of the Young Quantum Meetings CLEA, Vrije Universities Brussel 8-9 October, 2009 / Diederik Aerts, Sven Aerts, Christian De Ronde, editors.

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Author/Creator:

Young Quantum Meetings, Corporate Author.

Contributor:

Aerts, Diederik, editor.

Aerts, Sven, editor.

De Ronde, Christian, editor.

Conference Name:

Young Quantum Meetings (2009 : CLEA, Vrije Universiteit Brussel)

Young Quantum Meetings

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Quantum theory--Congresses.

Quantum theory.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (317 p.)

Place of Publication:

Singapore : World Scientific, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book provides a new original perspective on one of the most fascinating and important open questions in science: What is quantum mechanics talking about? Quantum theory is perhaps our best confirmed physical theory. However, in spite of its great empirical effectiveness and the subsequent technological developments that it gave rise to in the 20th century, from the interpretation of the periodic table of elements to CD players, holograms and quantum state teleportation, it stands even today without a universally accepted interpretation. The novelty of the book comes from the multiple view

Contents:

Dedication; Acknowledgments; Preface; CONTENTS; Do Quantum Dice Remember?; 0. Introduction; 1. The Markovian Paradigm: From Newton to Einstein and Beyond; 1.1. About relativistic and non-relativistic memory times in classical physics: Newton versus Einstein; 1.2. About relativistic and non-relativistic memory times in quantum physics; 2. Do Quantum Dice Remember? - Experimental Tests; 2.1. The Paris-Nord experiment; 2.1.1. Departures from the Poissonian paradigm; 2.1.2. Law of large numbers; 2.1.3. The Hurst parameter; 2.2. Tests of randomness of quantum random number generators

3. Test of the Existence of ""Non-Local Memory Times""3.1. Memory at a distance: One absolute time; 3.2. Memory at a distance: Different absolute times; 4. Conclusions; References; 5. Appendix: Plots Representing Experimental Results; Quantum Ontology in the Light of Gauge Theories; 1. Introduction; 2. Preliminary Group-Theoretical Model for Mechanical Systems; 3. Phase Postulate; 4. Quantum Postulate; 5. From the Quantum Ontology to the Quantum Formalism; 6. Polarization of Quantum States; 7. Conclusion; Acknowledgments; References

The Probabilistic Structure of Quantum Theory as Originating from Optimal Observation in the Face of the Observer's Lack of Knowledge of His Own State1. Introduction; 2. The Process of Observation; 2.1. The deterministic observer; 2.2. Probability in a run of experiments; 2.3. Repeated measurement on identical system states; 2.4. The optimal observer; 2.5. The optimal observer for statistical mixtures; 2.6. Optimal observation in complex Hilbert space; 3. Consequences of Optimal Observation; 3.1. Decision invariance and unitarity; 3.2. The elusive quantum to classical transition

3.3. Is the optimal observer objective?3.4. The optimal observer as a paradigm for observation?; 4. Concluding Remarks; References; Quantum Realism, Information, and Epistemological Modesty; 1. Against Ontology; 2. Epistemological Modesty; 3. Observers as Informational Agents; 4. Epistemic Loops; References; The Problem of Representation and Experience in Quantum Mechanics; 1. Introduction: The Metaphysical Quest; 2. Empiricism and Analytic Philosophy: Against Metaphysics?; 3. Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics Today; 4. Observation and Representation in Physics

5. Instrumentalism and Scientific Realism: The End of Representation6. Realism After Kant: Physical Theories as Expressions of the World; 7. Final Remarks: What is a 'Click' in a Detector?; Acknowledgments; References; Bohrian Complementarity in the Light of Kantian Teleology; 1. Bohr on Biology and Atomic Physics; 2. The Parallelism between Kant and Bohr on the Problem of Life; 3. Bohrian Complementarity in the Light of Kantian Teleology; 4. Conclusions; Acknowledgments; References; How Understanding Matters - Or Not; 0. Introduction; 1. Notions of Understandability

1.1. Terminological clarifications

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed April 8, 2014).

ISBN:

981-4596-29-9