How Classical Particles Emerge From the Quantum World |
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Authors: | Dennis Dieks Andrea Lubberdink |
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Institution: | 1.Institute for the History and Foundations of Science,Utrecht University,Utrecht,The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | The symmetrization postulates of quantum mechanics (symmetry for bosons, antisymmetry for fermions) are usually taken to entail
that quantum particles of the same kind (e.g., electrons) are all in exactly the same state and therefore indistinguishable in the strongest possible
sense. These symmetrization postulates possess a general validity that survives the classical limit, and the conclusion seems
therefore unavoidable that even classical particles of the same kind must all be in the same state—in clear conflict with
what we know about classical particles. In this article we analyze the origin of this paradox. We shall argue that in the
classical limit classical particles emerge, as new entities that do not correspond to the “particle indices” defined in quantum mechanics. Put differently, we show
that the quantum mechanical symmetrization postulates do not pertain to particles, as we know them from classical physics, but rather to indices that have a merely formal significance. This conclusion raises
the question of whether many discussions in the literature about the status of identical quantum particles have not been misguided. |
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