Ovidiu Cristinel, Stoica (2023) The prince and the pauper. A quantum paradox of Hilbert-space fundamentalism. [Preprint]

Preview

Text prince+pauper-v2.pdf Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

The quantum world is described by a unit vector in the Hilbert space and the Hamiltonian. Do they, as abstract basis-independent objects, give a complete description of the physical world, or should we include observables like positions and momenta and the decomposition into subsystems? According to "Hilbert-space fundamentalism" they give a complete description, and all other features of the physical world emerge from them (Carroll, arXiv:2103.09780). This thesis was previously refuted in (arXiv:2102.08620) in full generality. But being an abstract non-uniqueness proof, and not a constructive one, it may not be convincing enough to the busy reader who wants to avoid mathematical details.

Here I give a simpler, intuitive and constructive refutation, by showing that concrete physically distinct worlds can be described by the same unit vector and evolve according to the same law.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Ovidiu Cristinel, Stoica holotronix@gmail.com 0000-0002-2765-1562
Keywords:	Hilbert-space fundamentalism; quantum-first approaches; preferred basis problem; no-go theorem
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Reductionism/Holism General Issues > Structure of Theories Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Depositing User:	Ovidiu Cristinel Stoica
Date Deposited:	29 Oct 2023 02:02
Last Modified:	29 Oct 2023 02:02
Item ID:	22705
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Reductionism/Holism General Issues > Structure of Theories Specific Sciences > Physics > Symmetries/Invariances
Date:	23 October 2023
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22705

Available Versions of this Item

• The prince and the pauper. A quantum paradox of Hilbert-space fundamentalism. (deposited 26 Oct 2023 02:37)
  • The prince and the pauper. A quantum paradox of Hilbert-space fundamentalism. (deposited 29 Oct 2023 02:02) [Currently Displayed]

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item