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arXiv:0804.0884

Breakdown of Bell's Theorem for incompatible measurements

K. Hess

Published Apr 6, 2008• 2 citations
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Abstract

Bell's theorem contains the proposition that the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) theory (hypothesis) of the existence of elements of reality together with Einstein locality permits a mathematical description of EPR experiments by functions that are all defined on one common probability space. This proposition leads in turn to restrictions for possible experimental outcomes that Bell expressed in terms of his well known inequalities and that Vorob'ev and others had investigated before Bell. Summarizing several previous publications and adding new material, the above proposition is refuted by Einstein-local counterexamples from classical physics and shown to involve additional assumptions that can not be justified for mutually exclusive (incompatible) measurements and experiments. Moreover, criticism of our work by Mermin who invoked "standard sampling arguments" is shown to be false.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.0804.0884

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Bell's theorem contains the proposition that the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) theory (hypothesis) of the existence of elements of reality together with Einstein locality permits a mathematical description of EPR experiments by functions that are all defined on one common probability space. This proposition leads in turn to restrictions for possible experimental outcomes that Bell expressed in terms of his well known inequalities and that Vorob'ev and others had investigated before Bell. Summarizing several previous publications and adding new material, the above proposition is refuted by Einstein-local counterexamples from classical physics and shown to involve additional assumptions that can not be justified for mutually exclusive (incompatible) measurements and experiments. Moreover, criticism of our work by Mermin who invoked "standard sampling arguments" is shown to be false.
A critical reconsideration of the EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paper shows that the EPR argument can be developed without using the concept of `element of physical reality', thus eliminating any philosophical element in the logical chains of the paper. Deprived of its philosophical ornament, the EPR argument plainly reduces to require what quantum mechanics can not do: to assign definite values to two incompatible physical quantities. Hidden variables theories built up according to Bell - type theorems are formulated on the basis of the assumption that the locality condition implies the statistical independence between two measurements space - like separated. This assumption is valid only with the additional one that statistical dependence between two measurements requires a causal connection between them. This additional assumption rules out the possibility that statistical dependence may due to an intrinsic property of the physical system under study. Therefore, hidden variables theories are built up with a restriction which leads them to be disproved by experiment. Quantum mechanical non - locality, invoked for describing EPR - type experiments, is strictly connected to the hypothesis (NDV hypothesis) according to which the twin photons of entangled pairs do not have a definite polarization before measurements. Both hypotheses are used only for describing EPR experiments and not for making predictions. Therefore, they can be dropped without reducing the predictive power of quantum mechanics concerning entangled photons pairs. Furthermore, both hypotheses can be experimentally tested by a modification of a standard experimental apparatus designed for studying entangled photons pairs.
J. S. Bell’s well-known proofs of inequalities (and related work) are shown to be invalidated by two counter-arguments (-examples) that are based on Einstein-local propositions: Bell-type inequalities of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen experiments must include, as virtually all physical theories do, elements of physical reality and their mathematical representations that relate to continua as opposed to exclusively finite numbers. Furthermore, Bell-type inequalities must be valid for all possible experimental geometries that lead to the quantum result. Based on these propositions, violations of Bell-type inequalities are demonstrated without violating Einstein locality, without conspiracy type theories and even for the case that all known “loopholes” are closed.
The celebrated inequalities of Bell are based on the assumption that local hidden parameters exist. When combined with conflicting experimental results, these inequalities appear to prove that local hidden parameters cannot exist. This contradiction suggests to many that only instantaneous action at a distance can explain the Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen type of experiments. We show that, in addition to the assumption that hidden parameters exist, Bell tacitly makes a variety of other assumptions that contribute to his being able to obtain the desired contradiction. For instance, Bell assumes that the hidden parameters do not depend on time and are governed by a single probability measure independent of the analyzer settings. We argue that the exclusion of time has neither a physical nor a mathematical basis but is based on Bell's translation of the concept of Einstein locality into the language of probability theory. Our additional set of local hidden variables includes time-like correlated parameters and a generalized probability density. We prove that our extended space of local hidden variables does not permit Bell-type proofs to go forward.
In 1935 Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) published an important paper in which they claimed that the whole formalism of quantum mechanics together with what they called "Reality Criterion" imply that quantum mechanics cannot be complete. That is, there must exist some elements of reality that are not described by quantum mechanics. There must be, they concluded, a more complete description of physical reality behind quantum mechanics. There must be a state, a hidden variable, characterizing the state of affairs in the world in more details than the quantum mechanical state, something that also reflects the missing elements of reality. Under some further but quite plausible assumptions, this conclusion implies that in some spin-correlation experiments the measured quantum mechanical probabilities should satisfy particular inequalities (Bell-type inequalities). The paradox consists in the fact that quantum probabilities do not satisfy these inequalities. And this paradoxical fact has been confirmed by several laboratory experiments in the last three decades. The problem is still open and hotly debated among both physicists and philosophers. It has motivated a wide range of research from the most fundamental quantum mechanical experiments through foundations of probability theory to the theory of stochastic causality as well as the metaphysics of free will.
Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) have designed a gedanken experiment that suggested a theory that was more complete than quantum mechanics. The EPR design was later realized in various forms, with experimental results close to the quantum mechanical prediction. The experimental results by themselves have no bearing on the EPR claim that quantum mechanics must be incomplete nor on the existence of hidden parameters. However, the well known inequalities of Bell are based on the assumption that local hidden parameters exist and, when combined with conflicting experimental results, do appear to prove that local hidden parameters cannot exist. This fact leaves only instantaneous actions at a distance (called "spooky" by Einstein) to explain the experiments. The Bell inequalities are based on a mathematical model of the EPR experiments. They have no experimental confirmation, because they contradict the results of all EPR experiments. In addition to the assumption that hidden parameters exist, Bell tacitly makes a variety of other assumptions; for instance, he assumes that the hidden parameters are governed by a single probability measure independent of the analyzer settings. We argue that the mathematical model of Bell excludes a large set of local hidden variables and a large variety of probability densities. Our set of local hidden variables includes time-like correlated parameters and a generalized probability density. We prove that our extended space of local hidden variables does permit derivation of the quantum result and is consistent with all known experiments.
The celebrated inequalities of Bell are based on the assumption that local hidden parameters exist. When combined with conflicting experimental results these inequalities appear to prove that local hidden parameters cannot exist. This suggests to many that only instantaneous action at a distance can explain Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen (EPR) type of experiments. We show that Bell-type theories and proofs leading to the well-known inequalities completely exclude a large class of time dependencies in their considerations. Owing to the fact that the electrodynamics of moving bodies cannot be described by time-independent theories or models, we conclude that the Bell theorem cannot describe the physics of EPR experiments. We also show how hidden parameter theories that include time can obtain the quantum result.