Gao, Shan (2026) Can Self-Locating Uncertainty Exist in a Branching Universe? [Preprint]
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Abstract
The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics faces a well‑known challenge: how can probabilities emerge in a deterministic theory where all measurement outcomes occur? A prominent response appeals to self‑locating uncertainty (SLU): after branching, copies of an observer are uncertain about which branch they inhabit during the post-measurement, pre-observation period, and this uncertainty is then quantified to yield the Born rule. This paper examines whether the notion of SLU can be coherently instantiated in the Everettian framework. It argues that the two conditions required for SLU—having a branch‑relative identity (Recording Condition) and being uncertain about that identity (Uncertainty Condition)—are difficult to satisfy simultaneously in any physical system. Any attempt to realize SLU appears to force a decomposition of the observer into a memory module that records the outcome (and thus has branch‑relative identity) and a decision module that is uncertain (and thus lacks branch‑relative identity). Neither module individually possesses SLU, and it is not obvious that they can be combined into a unified epistemic agent that does. The analysis complements and deepens existing critiques and suggests that SLU‑based derivations of the Born rule may rest on a problematic foundation.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | quantum mechanics; Everett interpretation; Many-Worlds Interpretation; probability problem; self‑locating uncertainty; Born rule | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics |
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| Depositing User: | Prof. Shan Gao | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 12 Apr 2026 12:31 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 12 Apr 2026 12:31 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 29034 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Probability/Statistics Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics |
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| Date: | 12 April 2026 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29034 |
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