Comment on "Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory" by Catani et al

Hance, Jonte R.; Hossenfelder, Sabine

doi:10.48550/arxiv.2204.01768

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The only way we see for someone to think that it does undermine this notion is if they subscribe to the verificationist principle of the logical positivists. 2 This is the idea that a proposition is only meaningful if it is possible to conduct an experiment that verifies it. For the prisoners in Plato's cave, there is no experimental procedure by which they can come to learn all of the two-dimensional projections of an object at once, that is, its three-dimensional shape.…”

Section: On Epistemic States and Epistemic Restrictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reply to "Comment on 'Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory' "

Catani¹,

Leifer²,

Schmid³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Our article [1] argues that the phenomenology of interference that is traditionally regarded as problematic does not, in fact, capture the essence of quantum theory-contrary to the claims of Feynman and many others. It does so by demonstrating the existence of a physical theory, which we term the "toy field theory", that reproduces this phenomenology but which does not sacrifice the classical worldview. In their Comment [2], Hance and Hossenfelder dispute our claim. Correcting mistaken claims found therein and responding to their criticisms provides us with an opportunity to further clarify some of the ideas in our article.

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Section: On Epistemic States and Epistemic Restrictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reply to "Comment on 'Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory' "

Catani¹,

Leifer²,

Schmid³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…[21], which illustrates contextuality through single particle interferences, provides support for this view. However, it is not immediately obvious how quantum interferences relate to nonclassical correlations between separate quantum systems [23][24][25][26]. Taken together, [20] (relating contextuality and nonlocality) and [21] (relating contextuality to interference) suggest a potential route to clarify the relation between nonlocal quantum correlations, and quantum interference between the amplitudes associated with different measurement outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracing quantum correlations back to collective interferences

Ji,

Hance,

Hofmann

2024

New J. Phys.

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In this paper, we investigate the possibility of explaining nonclassical correlations between two quantum systems in terms of quantum interferences between collective states of the two systems. We achieve this by mapping the relations between different measurement contexts in the product Hilbert space of a pair of two-level systems onto an analogous sequence of interferences between paths in a single-particle interferometer. The relations between different measurement outcomes are then traced to the distribution of probability currents in the interferometer, where paradoxical relations between the outcomes are identified with currents connecting two states that are orthogonal and should therefore exclude each other. We show that the relation between probability currents and correlations can be represented by continuous conditional (quasi)probability currents through the interferometer, given by weak values; the violation of the noncontextual assumption is expressed by negative conditional currents in some of the paths. Since negative conditional currents correspond to the assignment of negative conditional probabilities to measurements results in different measurement contexts, the necessity of such negative probability currents represents a failure of noncontextual local realism. Our results help to explain the meaning of nonlocal correlations in quantum mechanics, and support Feynman’s claim that interference is the origin of all quantum phenomena.

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Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory

Catani,

Leifer,

Schmid

et al. 2023

Quantum

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Quantum interference phenomena are widely viewed as posing a challenge to the classical worldview. Feynman even went so far as to proclaim that they are the only mystery and the basic peculiarity of quantum mechanics. Many have also argued that basic interference phenomena force us to accept a number of radical interpretational conclusions, including: that a photon is neither a particle nor a wave but rather a Jekyll-and-Hyde sort of entity that toggles between the two possibilities, that reality is observer-dependent, and that systems either do not have properties prior to measurements or else have properties that are subject to nonlocal or backwards-in-time causal influences. In this work, we show that such conclusions are not, in fact, forced on us by basic interference phenomena. We do so by describing an alternative to quantum theory, a statistical theory of a classical discrete field (the `toy field theory') that reproduces the relevant phenomenology of quantum interference while rejecting these radical interpretational claims. It also reproduces a number of related interference experiments that are thought to support these interpretational claims, such as the Elitzur-Vaidman bomb tester, Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment, and the quantum eraser experiment. The systems in the toy field theory are field modes, each of which possesses, at all times, both a particle-like property (a discrete occupation number) and a wave-like property (a discrete phase). Although these two properties are jointly possessed, the theory stipulates that they cannot be jointly known. The phenomenology that is generally cited in favour of nonlocal or backwards-in-time causal influences ends up being explained in terms of inferences about distant or past systems, and all that is observer-dependent is the observer's knowledge of reality, not reality itself.

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Comment on "Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory" by Catani et al

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Reply to "Comment on 'Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory' "

Reply to "Comment on 'Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory' "

Tracing quantum correlations back to collective interferences

Why interference phenomena do not capture the essence of quantum theory

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