Bell's Theorem and Quantum Realism: Reassessment in Light of the Schrödinger Paradox (SpringerBriefs in Physics)

Quantum theory presents a strange picture of the world, offering no real account of physical properties apart from observation. Neils Bohr felt that this reflected a core truth of nature: "There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract mathematical description." Among the most significant developments since Bohr’s day has been the theorem of John S. Bell. It is important to consider whether Bell’s analysis supports such a denial of microrealism. In this book, we evaluate the situation in terms of an early work of Erwin Schrödinger. Doing so, we see how Bell’s theorem is conceptually related to the Conway and Kochen Free Will theorem and also to all the major anti-realism efforts. It is easy to show that none of these analyses imply the impossibility of objective realism. We find that Schrödinger’s work leads to the derivation of a new series of theoretical proofs and potential experiments, each involving “entanglement,” the link between particles in some quantum systems. . This book addresses the issue of alternative formulations of quantum mechanics, and in particular the impact of various mathematical theorems on this issue. The classic von Neumann's Theorem, as well as Gleason's Theorem and the Kochen-Specker Theorem are first up for analysis. The authors review the reasons - explained originally by John S. Bell - why none of these can stand as anti-hidden variables proofs. The main part of the book is a presentation of Einstein Podolsky Rosen and Bell's Theorem, as well as the extension of these via the so-called Schroedinger paradox. As in the case of the other results, these latter also fail to demonstrate "impossibility" of determinism in quantum physics. In the case of EPR and Bell's Theorem, what is proved is the impossibility of locality in quantum physics, ie., inevitability of 'nonlocality.' As to more recent results, such as Conway and Kochen's "Free Will Theorem," the authors show that here again, there is no demonstration that quantum mechanics denies determinism or conflicts with human free will. Rather, Conway and Kochen have been led to error by overlooking the full meaning of the EPR paradox, and its extension, the Schroedinger paradox. Quantum theory presents a strange picture of the world, offering no real account of physical properties apart from observation. Neils Bohr felt that this reflected a core truth of nature: "There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract mathematical description." Among the most significant developments since Bohr's day has been the theorem of John S. Bell. It is important to consider whether Bell's analysis supports such a denial of microrealism. In this book, we evaluate the situation in terms of an early work of Erwin Schrodinger. Doing so, we see how Bell's theorem is conceptually related to the Conway and Kochen Free Will theorem and also to all the major anti-realism efforts. It is easy to show that none of these analyses imply the impossibility of objective realism. We find that Schrodinger's work leads to the derivation of a new series of theoretical proofs and potential experiments, each involving "entanglement," the link between particles in some quantum systems Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-22 Contextuality....Pages 23-39 The Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen Paradox, Bell’s Theorem and Nonlocality....Pages 41-57 Schrödinger’s Paradox and Nonlocality....Pages 59-97