McQueen, Kelvin J. and Vaidman, Lev (2018) In defence of the self-location uncertainty account of probability in the many-worlds interpretation. [Preprint]
 | There is a more recent version of this item available. |
|
Text
defence-location-uncertainty.pdf Download (325kB) | Preview |
Abstract
We defend the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics (MWI) against the objection that it cannot explain why measurement outcomes are predicted by the Born probability rule. We understand quantum probabilities in terms of an observer's self-location probabilities. We formulate a probability postulate for the MWI: the probability of self-location in a world with a given set of outcomes is the absolute square of that world's amplitude. We provide a proof of this postulate, which assumes the quantum formalism and two principles concerning symmetry and locality. We also show how a structurally similar proof of the Born rule is available for collapse theories. We conclude by comparing our account to the recent account offered by Sebens and Carroll.
| Export/Citation: | EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL |
| Social Networking: |
| Item Type: | Preprint | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators: |
|
|||||||||
| Keywords: | Many worlds interpretation; Everett; Probability problem; Self-location uncertainty; measurement problem | |||||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances |
|||||||||
| Depositing User: | Dr. Kelvin J. McQueen | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 16 Feb 2018 02:48 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 16 Feb 2018 02:48 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 14389 | |||||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances |
|||||||||
| Date: | 12 February 2018 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14389 |
Available Versions of this Item
- In defence of the self-location uncertainty account of probability in the many-worlds interpretation. (deposited 16 Feb 2018 02:48) [Currently Displayed]
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}