arXiv:1002.3226 · International Journal of Quantum Information

MAKING NONLOCAL REALITY COMPATIBLE WITH RELATIVITY

Hrvoje Nikolić

Published Jan 1, 2011• 11 citations

Abstract

It is often argued that hypothetic nonlocal reality responsible for nonlocal quantum correlations between entangled particles cannot be consistent with relativity. I review the most frequent arguments of that sort, explain how they can all be circumvented, and present an explicit Bohmian model of nonlocal reality (compatible with quantum phenomena) that fully obeys the principle of relativistic covariance and does not involve a preferred Lorentz frame.

DOI: 10.1142/s0219749911007344

Related papers

Some Thoughts on Quantum Nonlocality and Its Apparent Incompatibility with Relativity

Shan Gao

It may well be that a relativistic version of the theory, while Lorentz invariant and local at the observational level, may be necessarily non-local and with a preferred frame (or aether) at the fundamental level. – John Bell [1] Introduction Bell's theorem establishes a contradiction between locality (and a few other assumptions) and certain predictions of quantum mechanics [2]. There have been two main issues surrounding the deep implications of this celebrated theorem. The first issue is basic, and it concerns whether the theorem really establishes that nonlocality is a necessary feature of any empirically viable theory and hence a feature of nature itself. One aspect of the issue concerns exactly what the underlying assumptions of Bell's theorem are. For example, some argue that these assumptions include the assumption of counterfactual definiteness [3–5], while others disagree [6–8]. The other aspect of the issue concerns which assumption should be dropped due to the resulting contradiction. Some believe that standard quantum mechanics may avoid nonlocality by denying counterfactual definiteness [3–5]. The second issue is much deeper, and it concerns how to make sense of the strange nonlocality when assuming that Bell's theorem establishes that our world is nonlocal. In particular, it has yet to be determined whether such quantum nonlocality is compatible with the theory of relativity, e.g., whether the nonlocality requires the existence of a preferred Lorentz frame [7, 9, 10]. It seems that “there is a preferred frame of reference, and in this preferred frame of reference things do go faster than light … Behind the apparent Lorentz invariance of the phenomena, there is a deeper level which is not Lorentz invariant” [11]. But it also seems possible that the existence of a preferred Lorentz frame is an illusion, since it cannot be detected according to standard quantum mechanics. A more subtle issue is whether quantum nonlocality permits superluminal signaling. It is widely thought that the answers to these questions will lead to a deeper understanding of Bell's theorem and quantum nonlocality. In this paper, we will present a new analysis of quantum nonlocality and its apparent incompatibility with relativity.

Cambridge University Press eBooksAug 31, 20161 citation

Relativistic Consistency of Nonlocal Quantum Correlations

Christian Beck, Dustin Lazarovici

What guarantees the "peaceful coexistence" of quantum nonlocality and special relativity? The tension arises because entanglement leads to locally inexplicable correlations between distant events that have no absolute temporal order in relativistic spacetime. This paper identifies a relativistic consistency condition that is weaker than Bell locality but stronger than the no-signaling condition meant to exclude superluminal communication. While justifications for the no-signaling condition often rely on anthropocentric arguments, relativistic consistency is simply the requirement that joint outcome distributions for spacelike separated measurements (or measurement-like processes) must be independent of their temporal order. This is necessary to obtain consistent statistical predictions across different Lorentz frames. We first consider ideal quantum measurements, derive the relevant consistency condition on the level of probability distributions, and show that it implies no-signaling (but not vice versa). We then extend the results to general quantum operations and derive corresponding operator conditions. This will allow us to clarify the relationships between relativistic consistency, no-signaling, and local commutativity. We argue that relativistic consistency is the basic physical principle that ensures the compatibility of quantum statistics and relativistic spacetime structure, while no-signaling and local commutativity can be justified on this basis.

EntropyJun 27, 20242 citations

NONLOCAL CORRELATIONS AND RELATIVITY OF PHYSICAL QUANTITIES

Aleksandr V. Belinsky, I. I. Djadan

Since the paper of Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen was published where the quantum nonlocality phenomenon was first problematized many physical explanations for this have been proposed. None of them won full recognition from physicists. Perhaps it is time to consider the issue more broadly with the involvement of non-physical arguments that have an abstract mathematical, general scientific, philosophical and historical projections. This work is an attempt at such a direction.

MetafizikaJul 17, 20231 citation

Quantum theory is incompatible with relativity: A new proof beyond Bell's theorem and a test of unitary quantum theories

Shan Gao

It has been debated whether quantum mechanics and special relativity are incompatible and whether there is a preferred Lorentz frame if they are incompatible. Bell's theorem is an important cornerstone, but it does not give us a definite positive answer due to the existence of supplementary assumptions or theoretical loopholes; there are unitary quantum theories which evade Bell's theorem and claim that they are compatible with special relativity. In this paper, I address the important issue of whether unitary quantum theories are compatible with special relativity. I propose a new Gedankenexperiment, a variant of the EPR-Bohm experiment with a superobserver who can undo a measurement. In this experiment, there is a stronger correlation (between the results of two spacelike separated measurements) than the correlation investigated in Bell's theorem. Based on an analysis of the correlations in different Lorentz frames, I prove that unitary single-world theories are incompatible with special relativity, and in order to avoid the incompatibility, there must exist a preferred Lorentz frame in these theories. Moreover, I argue that the incompatibility proof also applies to a proper version of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. This closes the major theoretical loopholes of Bell's theorem, including relationalism, retrocausality, and superdeterminism. Finally, I argue that the stronger correlation found in the Gedankenexperiment cannot be explained by retrocausal processes or even the common causes in the past, but only be explained by nonlocal processes or actions at a distance. This provides a test of unitary quantum theories, as well as a further support for the new incompatibility proof beyond Bell's theorem.

Jun 27, 20195 citations

Correlation Without Propagation: Clarifying the Distinction Between Quantum Nonlocality and Relativistic Signal Transmission

Neil Clive Tuckwell

This preprint clarifies a persistent category error in the interpretation of quantum mechanics and relativity by explicitly distinguishing propagation from correlation. Relativistic constraints, including the finite speed of light, apply to the transmission of energy, matter, and information through spacetime. Quantum mechanics, by contrast, permits nonlocal correlations between entangled systems that do not involve transmission, motion, or signal propagation. The apparent instantaneity of quantum effects therefore reflects the revelation of pre-existing correlation structure rather than superluminal dynamics. By maintaining this separation, the preprint shows that the finite speed of light and quantum nonlocality are not in conflict. Light is limited in speed because it propagates; quantum correlations have no speed because nothing propagates. This framing resolves common misconceptions surrounding entanglement, nonlocality, and causality without introducing hidden structures, preferred frames, or violations of relativistic invariance. The work is intended as a conceptual clarification and falsifiable interpretive framework, not a modification of quantum theory or relativity. Keywords quantum correlation nonlocality entanglement speed of light relativity causality non-signaling propagation vs correlation foundations of quantum mechanics conceptual clarification

Jan 29, 20260 citations

Quantum nonlocality and preferred frames of reference: A return to a Lorentzian interpretation of the special theory of relativity

Lilianne Rivka Mujica-Parodi

I argue in the dissertation that there exists a fundamental contradiction between quantum theory and the special theory of relativity and that most of the well-known arguments to the contrary suffer from internal inconsistencies that render them ineffective in resolving the conflict...

Jan 1, 19980 citations