A realist description of our universe requires a twofold concept of locality. On one hand, there are the strictly Einstein-local interactions which generate the time evolution. On the other hand, the quantum state space calls for a non-local description of multi-particle states. This article uses a behavioristic approach to argue, that an observer in a universe like this has to rely on local interactions to learn about its properties and behavior. Such an observer is fundamentally restricted in his ability to understand and structurally reconstruct the individual local physical universe. We argue, that this reconstruction based on dynamically available information is the defining process of observation in quantum theory. The observer-centric view of the global quantum dynamics is shown to be non-unitary and non-linear in general, even if the universe itself evolves unitarily. Interactions with massless free particles are found to have great influence on observation, because of their special role in the light-cone structure of an Einstein-local universe. For a specific scattering process with a photon of unknown state, the observed outcome can be subjectively random and follow the Born statistic, while the output state is really determined by the photon polarization. Based on this result, a theory of quantum measurement is formulated, which describes a measurement device as a cascade of scattering events.
A realist description of our universe requires a twofold concept of locality. On one hand, there are the strictly Einstein-local interactions which generate the time evolution. On the other hand, the quantum state space calls for a non-local description of multi-particle states. This article uses a behavioristic approach to argue, that an observer in a universe like this has to rely on local interactions to learn about its properties and behavior. Such an observer is fundamentally restricted in his ability to understand and structurally reconstruct the individual local physical universe. We argue, that this reconstruction based on dynamically available information is the defining process of observation in quantum theory. The observer-centric view of the global quantum dynamics is shown to be non-unitary and non-linear in general, even if the universe itself evolves unitarily. Interactions with massless free particles are found to have great influence on observation, because of their special role in the light-cone structure of an Einstein-local universe. For a specific scattering process with a photon of unknown state, the observed outcome can be subjectively random and follow the Born statistic, while the output state is really determined by the photon polarization. Based on this result, a theory of quantum measurement is formulated, which describes a measurement device as a cascade of scattering events.
The quantum measurement problem arises from a structural asymmetry in standard formulations of quantum mechanics: while unitary evolution is treated as fundamental, irreversible events are introduced only through ad hoc postulates. As a result, measurement, decoherence, and probability appear conceptually disconnected. In this work, we propose a minimal reformulation in which irreversible interaction events are taken as ontological primitives. An event is defined as a completely positive, trace-preserving map that is not equivalent to any unitary transformation. Unitary evolution emerges as an effective description valid between events. Within this framework, quantum measurement is not a special process but a particular class of irreversible events with outcome-resolving structure. The Born rule arises naturally from the statistical structure of event realizations, and environmental decoherence is reinterpreted as a high density of irreversible events. No collapse postulate, observer-dependent rule, or modification of quantum dynamics is required. This formulation provides a unified and physically grounded resolution of the measurement problem and establishes a conceptual foundation for event-based extensions connecting quantum theory with spacetime and gravity.
We argue that measurement data in quantum physics can be rigorously interpreted only as a result of a statistical, macroscopic process, taking into account the indistinguishable character of identical particles. Quantum determinism is in principle possible on the condition that a fully-fledged quantum model is used to describe the measurement device in interaction with the studied object as one system. In contrast, any approach that relies on Born's rule discriminates the dynamics of a quantum system from that of the detector with which it interacts during measurement. In this work, we critically analyze the validity of this measurement postulate applied to single-event signals. In fact, the concept of ``individual'' particle becomes inadequate once both indistinguishability and a scattering approach allowing an unlimited interaction time for an effective detection, are considered as they should be, hence preventing the separability of two successive measurement events. In this context, measurement data should therefore be understood only as a result of statistics over many events. Accounting for the intrinsic noise of the sources and the detectors, we also show with the illustrative cases of the Schrödinger cat and the Bell experiment that once the Born rule is abandoned on the level of a single particle, realism, locality and causality are restored. We conclude that indiscernibility and long-time detection process make quantum physics not fundamentally probabilistic.
This work presents a conceptual and semi-formal analysis of quantum entanglement, locality, and determinism, motivated by a thought experiment involving double-slit measurements performed on entangled particles at spacelike separation. While quantum correlations appear instantaneous, the paper demonstrates that no superluminal information transfer or causal influence is required to explain observed outcomes.Building upon the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen framework and Bell’s theorem, the study distinguishes between local dynamical processes and nonlocal informational correlations encoded in the global quantum state. It argues that measurement outcomes are locally realized yet globally constrained, leading to an effectively deterministic universal description while preserving epistemic uncertainty for observers.The paper reframes quantum nonlocality as a manifestation of global consistency rather than physical influence, offering insights into the relationship between realism, free will, and relativistic causality. The discussion is interpretational in nature and does not introduce new experimental claims, aiming instead to clarify foundational assumptions underlying quantum theory.This work is intended for researchers and students interested in quantum foundations, the philosophy of physics, and the conceptual structure of modern physical theories.
This article examines the scope and limitations of quantum mechanics in its Schrödinger and Dirac formulations. Quantum theory provides an extraordinarily precise description of how physical states evolve, interfere, and produce measurable probabilities. However, like other foundational theories, it presupposes a specific mathematical structure—complex Hilbert spaces, linear unitary dynamics, an external time parameter, and the Born rule—that it does not itself explain. The work argues that quantum mechanics answers the question of how quantum states behave, but not the deeper question of why physical reality admits a state-based, probabilistic description at all. To address this missing level of explanation, the article places quantum mechanics within the broader framework of the Thermodynamic Imperative of Order (TIO) and the Granular Entropic Program (GEP). Within this framework, quantum states are interpreted as emergent, statistically stable macroscopic representations of typical correlations in high-dimensional configuration spaces. Linearity, unitarity, and the Born rule arise as necessary consequences of measure concentration and stability, rather than as fundamental postulates. The article does not propose modifications to quantum mechanics. Instead, it clarifies the domain of validity of the theory and explains why a framework with its structure and remarkable universality must exist if stable quantum phenomena are to be observed at all.
The Born rule assigns probabilities to quantum measurement outcomes using only the local quantum amplitudes immediately before measurement. Yet the physical consequences of those outcomes may differ dramatically in their subsequent evolution, producing spacetime histories with very different entropies, information content, computational complexity, entanglement structure, and ultimately even spacetime curvature. These global properties appear to play no role in determining quantum probabilities. This paper argues that, viewed through the relativistic block-universe picture, this separation between local probability and global physical structure raises a natural conceptual question. The Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) preserves the complete branching structure of these histories, whereas collapse interpretations retain only a single realized history. The purpose of this paper is not to challenge the Born rule, but to highlight a conceptual asymmetry that may deserve further investigation.