Locally causal and deterministic interpretations of quantum mechanics: parallel lives and cosmic inflation

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in

McQueen

2020

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The apparent nonlocality of quantum theory has been a persistent concern. Einstein et. al. (1935) and Bell (1964) emphasized the apparent nonlocality arising from entanglement correlations. While some interpretations embrace this nonlocality, modern variations of the Everett-inspired many worlds interpretation try to circumvent it. In this paper, we review Bell's "no-go" theorem and explain how it rests on three axioms, local causality, no superdeterminism, and one world. Although Bell is often taken to have shown that local causality is ruled out by the experimentally confirmed entanglement correlations, we make clear that it is the conjunction of the three axioms that is ruled out by these correlations. We then show that by assuming local causality and no superdeterminism, we can give a direct proof of many worlds. The remainder of the paper searches for a consistent, local, formulation of many worlds. We show that prominent formulations whose ontology is given by the wave function violate local causality, and we critically evaluate claims in the literature to the contrary. We ultimately identify a local many worlds interpretation that replaces the wave function with a separable Lorentz-invariant wave-field. We conclude with discussions of the Born rule, and other interpretations of quantum mechanics. * This is a preprint. The final and definitive version of this paper will be published in Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics.

Section: Local Worldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reformulating Bell's theorem: The search for a truly local quantum theory

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in

McQueen

2020

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“…The present model is an attempt to interpret the empirical data from table-top quantum experiments, rather than high energy particle collisions, using the QED structure, by reconstructing the information content of Schwinger's space-time state vector using more familiar single-particle spatial wavefunctions. This turns out to be the natural theoretical framework for refining the local Schrödinger picture of the Parallel Lives interpretation of quantum mechanics [10,11], and should also be consistent with (but not identical to) the local Heisenberg picture frameworks that have been developed elsewhere [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. I recommend perusing the detailed examples in the Supplemental Information as you read this article to help develop a clear idea of the local hidden variable treatment for Wigner's friend, Mach-Zehnder Interferometers, Wheeler's Delayed Choice, the Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser, and Quantum Teleportation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Quantum Theory with Fluids in Space-Time

2023

Quantum Reports

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In 1948, Schwinger developed a local Lorentz-covariant formulation of relativistic quantum electrodynamics in space-time which is fundamentally inconsistent with any delocalized interpretation of quantum mechanics. An interpretation compatible with Schwinger’s theory is presented, which reproduces all of the standard empirical predictions of conventional delocalized quantum theory in configuration space. This is an explicit, unambiguous, and Lorentz-covariant “local hidden variable theory” in space-time, whose existence proves definitively that such theories are possible. This does not conflict with Bell’s theorem because it is a local many-worlds theory. Each physical system is characterized by a wave-field, which is a set of indexed piece-wise single-particle wavefunctions in space-time, each with its own coefficient, along with a memory which contains the separate local Hilbert-space quantum state at each event in space-time. Each single-particle wavefunction of a fundamental system describes the motion of a portion of a conserved fluid in space-time, with the fluid decomposing into many classical point particles, each following a world-line and recording a local memory. Local interactions between two systems take the form of local boundary conditions between the differently indexed pieces of those systems’ wave-fields, with new indexes encoding each orthogonal outcome of the interaction. The general machinery is introduced, including the local mechanisms for entanglement and interference. The experience of collapse, Born rule probability, and environmental decoherence are discussed, and a number of illustrative examples are given.

An Ontology of Nature with Local Causality, Parallel Lives, and Many Relative Worlds

2018

Found Phys

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Parallel Lives (PL) is an ontological model of nature in which quantum mechanics and special relativity are unified in a single universe with a single space-time. Point-like objects called lives are the only fundamental objects in this space-time, and they propagate at or below c, and interact with one another only locally at pointlike events in space-time, very much like classical point particles. Lives are not alive in any sense, nor do they possess consciousness or any agency to make decisions -they are simply point objects which encode memory at events in space-time. The only causes and effects in the universe occur when lives meet locally, and thus the causal structure of interaction events in space-time is Lorentz invariant. Each life traces a continuous world-line through space-time, and experiences its own relative world, fully defined by the outcomes of past events along its world-line (never superpositions), which are encoded in its external memory. A quantum field comprises a continuum of lives throughout space-time, and familiar physical systems like particles each comprise a subcontinuum of the lives of the field. Each life carries a hidden internal memory containing a local relative wavefunction, which is a local piece of a pure universal wavefunction, but it is the relative wavefunctions in the local memories throughout space-time which are physically real in PL, and not the universal wavefunction in configuration space. Furthermore, while the universal wavefunction tracks the average behavior of the lives of a system, it fails to track their individual dynamics and trajectories. There is always a preferred separable basis, and for an irreducible physical system, each orthogonal term in this basis is a different relative world -each containing some fraction of the lives of the system. The relative wavefunctions in the lives' internal memories govern which lives of different systems can meet during future local interactions, and thereby enforce entanglement correlations -including Bell inequality violations. These, and many other details, are explored here, but several aspects of this framework are not yet fleshed out, and work is ongoing. OverviewThis model has been developed in the spirit of Einstein [1], Aharonov [2], and others, which can be loosely summarized by the sentence, "Once you can explain the workings of nature with the right physical story, the mathematical formalism will follow." I am not so presumptuous as to think that this is the right physical story, but I do believe that this model possesses a remarkable degree of elegance and simplicity, and thus warrants serious consideration. Here I attempt to present the most important parts of the story, after which I examine several specific details, examples, and questions.The guiding principle for the development of this ontology is that there should be only one space-time in the universe, in which all objects reside, and the only fundamental objects should be point-like 'lives' that move along world lines like classical point particles,...