Quantum Causality

Conceptual Issues in the Causal Theory of Quantum Mechanics
1. Auflage 2009
ISBN: 978-90-481-2403-9
Verlag: Springer-Verlag
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 230 Seiten

There is no sharp dividing line between the foundations of physics and philosophy of physics. This is especially true for quantum mechanics. The debate on the interpretation of quantum mechanics has raged in both the scientific and philosophical communities since the 1920s and continues to this day. (We shall understand the unqualified term ‘quantum mechanics’ to mean the mathematical formalism, i. e. laws and rules by which empirical predictions and theoretical advances are made. ) There is a popular rendering of quantum mechanics which has been publicly endorsed by some well known physicists which says that quantum mechanics is not only 1 more weird than we imagine but is weirder than we can imagine. Although it is readily granted that quantum mechanics has produced some strange and counter-intuitive results, the case will be presented in this book that quantum mechanics is not as weird as we might have been led to believe! The prevailing theory of quantum mechanics is called Orthodox Quantum Theory (also known as the Copenhagen Interpretation). Orthodox Quantum Theory endows a special status on measurement processes by requiring an intervention of an observer or an observer’s proxy (e. g. a measuring apparatus). The placement of the observer (or proxy) is somewhat arbitrary which introduces a degree of subjectivity. Orthodox Quantum Theory only predicts probabilities for measured values of physical quantities. It is essentially an instrumental theory, i. e.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Preface;6
2;Contents;8
3;List of Figures;11
4;Chapter 1 General Introduction;13
4.1;1.1 Quantum Reality;13
4.2;1.2 Causation, Causality, and Determinism;17
4.3;1.3 Introducing the Causal Theory of Quantum Mechanics;22
4.4;1.4 Assessing Rival Scientific Theories;26
4.5;1.5 Conceptual Issues, Theoretical and Conceptual Problems;27
5;Chapter 2 Preliminaries;31
5.1;2.1 Orthodox Quantum Theory and its Mathematical Formalism;31
5.2;2.2 Uncertainty at the Quantum Level;39
5.3;2.3 The Measurement Problem and Quantum Paradoxes;43
5.4;2.4 ‘Hidden Variable’ Theories and Impossibility Proofs;48
6;Chapter 3 The Causal Theory of Quantum Mechanics;57
6.1;3.1 Motivations for the Causal Theory;57
6.2;3.2 An Axiomatic Foundation;60
6.3;3.3 One Particle States;63
6.4;3.4 Statistical Predictions;71
6.5;3.5 Dynamic Theory of Measurement;74
6.6;3.6 Many Particle States and Non-Locality;79
6.7;3.7 Resolution of the Quantum Paradoxes;85
6.8;3.8 Transition to the Classical Realm;86
6.9;3.9 Quantum Equilibrium, Metaphysics, and Consistency;87
7;Chapter 4 Energy and the Wave Field;91
7.1;4.1 The Wave Field and the Concept of Energy;91
7.2;4.2 The Active Information Hypothesis;96
7.3;4.3 A Non-Interactive Approach to the Wave Field;100
7.4;4.4 The Physical Nature of Potential Energy;102
7.5;4.5 The Existence and Characteristics of the Wave Field;107
7.6;4.6 Non-Locality and the Wave Field;116
7.7;4.7 Can the Causal Theory be made Relativistic?;119
8;Chapter 5 Energy-Momentum Transfer and the Quantum Potential;121
8.1;5.1 Energy Conservation in the Causal Theory?;121
8.2;5.2 Energy-Momentum Exchange in Single Particle States;122
8.3;5.3 Wave Field Energy and its Transfer;127
8.4;5.4 Quantum Reaction?;136
8.5;5.5 The Wave Field and the Quantum Potential;138
8.6;5.6 The Wave Field and Physical Measurement;144
8.7;5.7 Tunnelling from a Quantum Well;147
8.8;5.8 The Quantum Mechanical Force;149
8.9;5.9 Empirical Consequences;154
9;Chapter 6 The Exclusion Principle;159
9.1;6.1 What is the Exclusion Principle?;159
9.2;6.1 What is the Exclusion Principle?;159
9.3;6.2 Quantum Mechanical Spin;169
9.4;6.3 The Exclusion Principle in the Causal Theory;178
9.5;6.4 A Basis for the Exclusion Principle;183
9.6;6.5 Modelling of Fermionic Wave Fields;188
10;Concluding Remarks;193
11;Appendices;199
11.1;Appendix A The Gaussian Wave Packet;199
11.2;Appendix B Derivatives and Integrals;206
11.3;Appendix C Hamiltonian of a Classically-free Gaussian Quantum System;207
11.4;Appendix D Energy Content of a Gaussian Wave Field;209
11.5;Appendix E Summary of Defined Principles;211
12;Bibliography;214
13;Websites;233
14;Index;235