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arXiv:1111.3328quant-ph

On the reality of the quantum state

Matthew F. Pusey, Jonathan Barrett, Terry Rudolph

Abstract

Quantum states are the key mathematical objects in quantum theory. It is therefore surprising that physicists have been unable to agree on what a quantum state truly represents. One possibility is that a pure quantum state corresponds directly to reality. However, there is a long history of suggestions that a quantum state (even a pure state) represents only knowledge or information about some aspect of reality. Here we show that any model in which a quantum state represents mere information about an underlying physical state of the system, and in which systems that are prepared independently have independent physical states, must make predictions which contradict those of quantum theory.

arXiv comments
5+3 pages, 3+2 figures. v3: Minor improvements, now closely approximates journal version
Journal reference
Nature Phys. 8, 475 (2012)
DOI
doi:10.1038/nphys2309
Subjects
quant-phQuantum Physics

On Hacker News

Linked by 6 identifiable commenters in 6 comments across 5 threads, from Nov 2011 to Jan 2018. Found in 1 HN submission from Nov 2011 to Nov 2011. Open submission discussions.

Comments linking this paper, per year.

Discussed in comments5 threads

  1. The Quantum Theory and Reality (1979) [pdf] 1 comment

    • There is lots of mathematical evidence that every quantum state maps 1-to-1 on a physical state¹, or at least be uniquely determined by the physical state². The main assumption both make is that there is some physical state. So it doesn't really matter if it's a map or not - it…

      akvadrakoView on HNParent context

  2. How Schrödinger’s Cat Became Such a Violent Fable 1 comment

    • Thanks for the link![1] I should have been more precise. What is settled science is that the collapse of the wave function happens due to different causes for different observers. Example: Take two detectors A and B and place an apparatus in the middle that emits two entangled…

      codethiefView on HNParent context

  3. Quantum Entanglement Drives the Arrow of Time 1 comment

    • Recently, there was a paper talking about this aspect of quantum theory - http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/1111.3328 ... well, it was "recently" and fresh in my mind, but it appears to be back in 2011 :)

      aufreak3View on HNParent context

  4. The insanely weird quantum wave function might be "real" after all 1 comment

    • The original paper http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.3328 was previously discussed on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3260445 and Matt Leifer's blog post http://mattleifer.info/2011/11/20/can-the-quantum-state-be-i... is the best explanation out there of all this. The short…

      jessriedelView on HNParent context

  5. Quantum theorem shakes foundations 2 comments

    • This article is about a new theorem that was uploaded to the preprint server earlier this week[1], and the article quotes several quantum theorists who describe this new result as important (or even ‘seismic’). On what basis do you think it’s been around for decades? 1.…

      robinhoustonView on HNParent context

    • Very cool: http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/1111.3328 Not sure if I understand all the assumptions. Here is the gist of it. The debate is about the interpretation of quantum states |φ> (L2 norm unit vectors in a complex vector space). Is |φ> something physical or is it simply a…

      ivan_ahView on HNParent context

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