A Semantic Approach to the Completeness Problem in Quantum Mechanics

The old Bohr–Einstein debate about the completeness of quantum mechanics (QM) was held on an ontological ground. The completeness problem becomes more tractable, however, if it is preliminarily discussed from a semantic viewpoint. Indeed every physical theory adopts, explicitly or not, a truth theory for its observative language, in terms of which the notions of semantic objectivity and semantic completeness of the physical theory can be introduced and inquired. In particular, standard QM adopts a verificationist theory of truth that implies its semantic nonobjectivity; moreover, we show in this paper that standard QM is semantically complete, which matches Bohr's thesis. On the other hand, one of the authors has provided a Semantic Realism (or SR) interpretation of QM that adopts a Tarskian theory of truth as correspondence for the observative language of QM (which was previously mantained to be impossible); according to this interpretation QM is semantically objective, yet incomplete, which matches EPR's thesis. Thus, standard QM and the SR interpretation of QM come to opposite conclusions. These can be reconciled within an integrationist perspective that interpretes non-Tarskian theories of truth as theories of metalinguistic concepts different from truth.     

Relation Between Relativistic and Non-Relativistic Quantum Mechanics as Integral Transformation

A formulation of quantum mechanics (QM) in the relativistic configurational space (RCS) is considered. A transformation connecting the non-relativistic QM and relativistic QM (RQM) has been found in an explicit form. This transformation is a direct generalization of the Kontorovich–Lebedev transformation. It is shown also that RCS gives an example of non-commutative geometry over the commutative algebra of functions.     

Bell’s inequality, Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen arguments and von Neumann’s projection postulate

This paper is devoted to analysis of the role of projection postulate in Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen-EPR [1] argument against completeness of QM. It will be shown that the EPR considerations do not match with von Neumann’s quantum measurement theory (QMT). The root of EPR’s conclusion on incompleteness of QM is the misuse of von Neumann’s projection postulate. EPR applied this postulate to observables with degenerate spectra (which is totally forbidden by von Neumann’s axiomatics of QM). Consequences for Bell’s inequality and quantum information theory are analyzed. This paper might stimulate discussion on the role of projection postulate in quantum information theory, especially quantum cryptography and teleportation.     

Where is an object before you look at it?

According to the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics (QM), no meaning can be assigned to the statement that a particle has a precise value of any one of the variables describing its physical propertes before having interacted with a suitable measuring instrument. On the other hand, it is well known that QM tends to classical statistical mechanics (CSM) when a suitable classical limit is performed. One may ask therefore how is it that in this limit, the statement, meaningless in QM, that a given variable has always a precise value independently of having been measured, gradually becomes meaningful. In other words, one may ask how can it be that QM, which is a theory describing the intrinsically probabilistic properties of a quantum object, becomes a statistical theory describing a probabilistic knowledge of intrinsically well determined properties of classical objects.In the present paper we try to answer to this question and show that an inconsistency arises between the conventional interpretation of CSM which presupposes objectively existing Newtonian trajectories, and the standard interpretation of QM. We conclude that the latter needs revisiting unnless we wish to adopt a strictly subjective conception of the world around us, implying that macroscopic objects as well are not localized anywhere before we look at them.     

The Quasi-Maxwellian Equations of General Relativity: Applications to Perturbation Theory

A comprehensive review of the equations of general relativity in the quasi-Maxwellian (QM) formalism introduced by Jordan, Ehlers and Kundt is presented. Our main interest concerns its applications to the analysis of the perturbation of standard cosmology in the Friedman-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker framework. The major achievement of the QM scheme is its use of completely gauge-independent quantities. We shall see that in the QM-scheme, we deal directly with observable quantities. This reveals its advantage over the old method introduced by Lifshitz that deals with perturbation in the standard framework. For completeness, we compare the QM-scheme to the gauge-independent method of Bardeen, a procedure consisting of particular choices of the perturbed variables as a combination of gauge-dependent quantities.     

The heavy-ion spin-orbit interaction

An expression for the induced spin-orbit potential in a heavy-ion collision is derived by making and adiabatic approximation to the effective interaction in second-order perturbation theory. An explicit form for the induced spin-orbit interaction for the case of a projectile of arbitrary ground state spin S is given and is shown to be equivalent to the result obtained using the methods of geometrical magnetism.     

Semi-Classical Calculation of the Particle Production in QED via the Schwinger Dynamical Principle

The Schwinger quantum dynamical principle is used to calculate the free vacuum persistence amplitude in the presence of a prescribed electromagnetic background, and the probability that free pairs are created from the vacuum state. An explicit expression of these amplitudes is obtained in the semi-classical approach, showing that, in this approach, the particle production is a stochastic Poisson process. PACS subject classifications. 02.30.Xx, 11.15.Bt, 12.20.Ds, 12.20.-m.     

Singularity-free cosmological solutions with non-rotating perfect fluids

A conjecture stated by Raychaudhuri which claims that the only physical perfect fluid non-rotating non-singular cosmological models are comprised in the Ruiz–Senovilla and Fernández–Jambrina families is shown to be incorrect. An explicit counterexample is provided and the failure of the argument leading to the result is explicitly pointed out.     

有限维奇偶对相干态的非经典性质

构造出了奇偶对相干态的指数形式, 并把奇偶对相干态推广至有限维Hilbert空间, 获得了有限维奇偶对相干态, 然后讨论了它们的正交归一完备性、反聚束效应和相位概率分布. 结果表明, 在此空间中奇偶对相干态具有归一完备性, 但不具有正交性. 借助于数值计算发现, 无论q取何值, 在参数|ξ|的不同取值范围内, 对于5维Hilbert空间中奇偶对相干态在模1和模2两个方向上均可呈现反聚束效应, 并且此双模光场的光子均是相关的. 而在7维Hilbert空间中，奇偶对相干态相位概率分 关键词： 有限维奇偶对相干态 反聚束效应 相位概率分布     

Objectivity versus Nonobjectivity in Quantum Mechanics

Nonobjectivity of physical properties enters physics with the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics (QM), and a number of paradoxes of this theory follow from it. It seems, however, based on sound physical arguments (double slit experiment, Heisenberg's principle, Bell–Kochen–Specker theorem, etc.), so that most physicists think that avoiding it is impossible. We discuss these arguments here and show that they can be criticized from a physical viewpoint. Our criticism proves that nonobjectivity must be considered an epistemological choice rather than an unavoidable feature of QM, so that an objective interpretation of QM is not a priori impossible, which justifies our attempt at providing it in some previous papers. This interpretation is based on a classical language in which the language of the standard interpretation (Quantum Logic) is embedded as a subset of statements that are directly testable according to QM.     

Boundary conditions on current carrying states and the implications for observations of bloch oscillations

The problem of the precise form (together with the associated boundary conditions) of a one-dimensional hamiltonian describing a particle of variable mass is addressed. It is shown that although hermiticity may be a necessary condition, it is not sufficient to specify uniquely the hamiltonian. In particular one form of the latter that is widely employed in the literature is shown to lead to a violation of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. However imposition of the additional demand that any singular terms arising from the kinetic energy can be transformed away does lead to a unique specification of the hamiltonian. Finally the implications of the latter with regard to the standard probability interpretation of the wavefunction and for the observation of Bloch oscillations in quantum well structures is described.     

A possible signature of new physics at BES-Ⅲ

The recent observations of the purely leptonic decay Ds+→μ+νμ and τ+ντ at CLEO-c and B factory may allow a possible contribution from a charged Higgs bosom One such measurement of the decay constant fDs differs from the most precise unquenched lattice QCD calculation by a level of 4σ.Meanwhile,the measured ratio,BR(D+s+→μ.+νμ)/BR(D+→μ+νμ),is larger than the standard model prediction at a 2.0σ level.We discuss that the precise measurement of the ratio BR(Ds+→μ+νμ)/BR(D+μ+νμ) at BES-Ⅲ will shed light on the presence of new intermediate particles by comparing the data with the theoretical predictions,especially,the predictions of high precise unquenched lattice QCD calculations.     

Non-exponential Decay in Quantum Field Theory and in Quantum Mechanics: The Case of Two (or More) Decay Channels

We study the deviations from the exponential decay law, both in quantum field theory (QFT) and quantum mechanics (QM), for an unstable particle which can decay in (at least) two decay channels. After a review of general properties of non-exponential decay in QFT and QM, we evaluate in both cases the decay probability that the unstable particle decays in a given channel in the time interval between t and t+dt. An important quantity is the ratio of the probability of decay into the first and the second channel: this ratio is constant in the Breit-Wigner limit (in which the decay law is exponential) and equals the quantity Γ ₁/Γ ₂, where Γ ₁ and Γ ₂ are the respective tree-level decay widths. However, in the full treatment (both for QFT and QM) it is an oscillating function around the mean value Γ ₁/Γ ₂ and the deviations from this mean value can be sizable. Technically, we study the decay properties in QFT in the context of a superrenormalizable Lagrangian with scalar particles and in QM in the context of Lee Hamiltonians, which deliver formally analogous expressions to the QFT case.     

The Modified Bell Inequality and Its Physical Implications in the ESR Model

The extended semantic realism (ESR) model proposes a theoretical perspective which reinterprets quantum probabilities as conditional on detection rather than absolute and embodies the mathematical formalism of standard (Hilbert space) quantum mechanics (QM) in a noncontextual, hence local, framework. The assumptions needed to prove the Bell inequality therefore hold in the ESR model, but we show that the Bell inequality must be substituted in it by the modified Bell inequality and that the standard quantum expectation values, when reinterpreted as proposed by the ESR model, do not violate the latter inequality. Hence the long-standing conflict between ??local realism?? and QM is settled in the ESR model. Finally we provide an elementary example of a prediction that might be used to check whether the ESR model is correct.     

Rotational invariance as an additional constraint on local realism

Rotational invariance of physical laws is a generally accepted principle. We show that it leads to an additional external constraint on local realistic models of physical phenomena involving measurements of multiparticle spin 1/2 correlations. This new constraint rules out such models even in some situations in which standard Bell inequalities allow for explicit construction of such models. The whole analysis is performed without any additional assumptions on the form of local realistic models.     

No Preferred Reference Frame at the Foundation of Quantum Mechanics

Quantum information theorists have created axiomatic reconstructions of quantum mechanics (QM) that are very successful at identifying precisely what distinguishes quantum probability theory from classical and more general probability theories in terms of information-theoretic principles. Herein, we show how one such principle, Information Invariance and Continuity, at the foundation of those axiomatic reconstructions, maps to “no preferred reference frame” (NPRF, aka “the relativity principle”) as it pertains to the invariant measurement of Planck’s constant h for Stern-Gerlach (SG) spin measurements. This is in exact analogy to the relativity principle as it pertains to the invariant measurement of the speed of light c at the foundation of special relativity (SR). Essentially, quantum information theorists have extended Einstein’s use of NPRF from the boost invariance of measurements of c to include the SO(3) invariance of measurements of h between different reference frames of mutually complementary spin measurements via the principle of Information Invariance and Continuity. Consequently, the “mystery” of the Bell states is understood to result from conservation per Information Invariance and Continuity between different reference frames of mutually complementary qubit measurements, and this maps to conservation per NPRF in spacetime. If one falsely conflates the relativity principle with the classical theory of SR, then it may seem impossible that the relativity principle resides at the foundation of non-relativisitic QM. In fact, there is nothing inherently classical or quantum about NPRF. Thus, the axiomatic reconstructions of QM have succeeded in producing a principle account of QM that reveals as much about Nature as the postulates of SR.     

General aspects of stochastic quantum field theory for extended particles

Theories of free fields describing spin zero and1/2 extended particles are derived within the stochastic quantum field theory (SQFT) framework. Covariant SQFT analogs of free Schwinger functions and Feynman propagators are obtained, and explicit expressions for charge and four-momentum operators are derived which exhibit a remarkable formal resemblance to their local counterparts. It is shown that the essential results of the LSZ formalism for interacting fields also have their counterpart in SQFT, and that the same holds true of Wightman's reconstruction theorem. Fields on quantum space-time do not obey the local (anti)-commutativity postulate, but we argue that due to the uncertainty principle this postulate cannot be operationally justified as an expression of microcausality despite the customary identification of the two notions. An operationally consistent microcausality condition is proposed instead.This work was supported in part by an NRC research grant.     

An integrable SU(3) spin chain

An integrable SU(3) soin chain equation is constructed. An explicit form of the Lax-pair representation is given and it is shown to be gauge equivalent to a set of nonlinear Schrödinger- type equations for three complex variables.