Valentini, Antony (2019) Foundations of statistical mechanics and the status of the Born rule in de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave theory. [Preprint]
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Text (41 pages, 4 figures. To appear in: Statistical Mechanics and Scientific Explanation: Determinism, Indeterminism and Laws of Nature, ed. V. Allori (World Scientific))
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Abstract
We compare and contrast two distinct approaches to understanding the Born rule in de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave theory, one based on dynamical relaxation over time (advocated by this author and collaborators) and the other based on typicality of initial conditions (advocated by the 'Bohmian mechanics' school). It is argued that the latter approach is inherently circular and physically misguided. The typicality approach has engendered a deep-seated confusion between contingent and law-like features, leading to misleading claims not only about the Born rule but also about the nature of the wave function. By artificially restricting the theory to equilibrium, the typicality approach has led to further misunderstandings concerning the status of the uncertainty principle, the role of quantum measurement theory, and the kinematics of the theory (including the status of Galilean and Lorentz invariance). The restriction to equilibrium has also made an erroneously-constructed stochastic model of particle creation appear more plausible than it actually is. To avoid needless controversy, we advocate a modest 'empirical approach' to the foundations of statistical mechanics. We argue that the existence or otherwise of quantum nonequilibrium in our world is an empirical question to be settled by experiment.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | de Broglie-Bohm, pilot-wave theory, Bohmian mechanics, quantum equilibrium, quantum relaxation, Born rule | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics |
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| Depositing User: | Dr Antony Valentini | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 11 Jul 2019 20:34 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 11 Jul 2019 20:34 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 16207 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics |
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| Date: | 11 July 2019 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/16207 |
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