It is said about quantum interference that "In reality, it contains the only mystery". Indeed, together with non-locality it is often considered as the characteristic feature of quantum theory which can not be explained in any classical way. In this work we are concerned with a restricted setting of a single particle propagating in multi-path interferometric circuits, that is physical realisation of a qudit. It is shown that this framework, including collapse of the wave function, can be simulated with classical resources without violating the locality principle. We present a local ontological model whose predictions are indistinguishable from the quantum case. 'Non-locality' in the model appears merely as an epistemic effect arising on the level of description by agents whose knowledge is incomplete. This result suggests that the real quantum mystery should be sought in the multi-particle behaviour, since single-particle interferometric phenomena are explicable in a classical manner.
It is said about quantum interference that "In reality, it contains the only mystery". Indeed, together with non-locality it is often considered as the characteristic feature of quantum theory which can not be explained in any classical way. In this work we are concerned with a restricted setting of a single particle propagating in multi-path interferometric circuits, that is physical realisation of a qudit. It is shown that this framework, including collapse of the wave function, can be simulated with classical resources without violating the locality principle. We present a local ontological model whose predictions are indistinguishable from the quantum case. 'Non-locality' in the model appears merely as an epistemic effect arising on the level of description by agents whose knowledge is incomplete. This result suggests that the real quantum mystery should be sought in the multi-particle behaviour, since single-particle interferometric phenomena are explicable in a classical manner.
It has been said about quantum interference, that ``in reality, it contains the only mystery''. Together with nonlocality, it is often considered the characteristic feature of quantum theory challenging our classical understanding of the world. In this work, we are concerned with the restricted setting of a single particle propagating in multipath interferometric circuits---that is, the physical realization of a qudit---which is host to many typically quantum mechanical effects including collapse of the wave function and contextuality. In this paper, we show that this framework can be simulated with classical resources without violating the locality principle. We present a local ontological model whose predictions are indistinguishable from the quantum case. In the model, `nonlocality' appears merely as an epistemic effect arising from a level of description by agents whose knowledge is incomplete. It is notably different from the multiparticle scenarios where entanglement leads to nonlocal correlations on an ontological level. This result exposes the conceptual difference between single- and multiparticle phenomena, pointing to the latter as a deeper quantum mystery.
We consider a typical realization of a qubit as a single particle in two-path interferometric circuits built from phase shifters, beam splitters and detectors. This framework is often taken as a standard example illustrating various paradoxes and quantum effects, including non-locality. In this paper we show that it is possible to simulate the behaviour of such circuits in a classical manner using stochastic gates and two kinds of particles, real ones and ghosts , which interact only locally. The model has built-in limited information gain and state disturbance in measurements which are blind to ghosts . We demonstrate that predictions of the model are operationally indistinguishable from the quantum case of a qubit, and allegedly ‘non-local’ effects arise only on the epistemic level of description by the agent whose knowledge is incomplete due to the restricted means of investigating the system.
We propose a quantum framework where cavity-induced nonlocal stochastic quantized momentum transfer governs double-slit interference of single eelectrons, replacing self-interference, wavefunction collapse, and Schrödinger’s wavefunction description. Using Heisenberg’s operator formalism, we model the electron’s interaction with the double slit as a quantized field potential. This approach explains interference via discrete momentum transfer through stochastic cavity modes. We explore its role as a non-local hidden-variable mechanism, predicting deviations in Bell violation, and finer discrete interference fringes in short cavity-mode wavelength regimes, opening new avenues for experimental verification. Our new interpretation of quantum dynamics sheds light on long-standing debates about quantum reality, hidden variables, wave-function superposition and Schrödinger’s cat, the illusion of self-interference of a single electron, and instantaneous wavefunction collapse misconception in the measurements. Our theory possesses the deterministic description of an electron a stochastic yet nonlocal hidden variable characteristic of the quantized cavity modes. It meets Einstein’s desire for a more complete theory and bridges the gap between physical reality and the incomplete conventional quantum theory that requires confusing Copenhagen or many-world interpretations.
Feynman famously said that single-particle interference is ``a phenomenon which is impossible to explain in any classical way, and which has in it the heart of quantum mechanics.'' In this paper we show that some of the phenomenology of interference can be reproduced in a ``classical'' way, by reproducing the Elitzur-Vaidman Bomb Tester (including their improved version) using an extension of the quantum simulation logic (QSL) formalism. Our result improves and simplifies a previous result by Catani \emph{et al}, which relies on a much more complicated extension involving a ``toy field theory.'' We also show that not all single-particle interference can be explained by such a simple extension (including that of Catani et al), by showing that Hofmann's three-path interferometer is ``nonclassical'' in a very specific sense: it violates a Kochen-Specker-noncontextual inequality. Given that both our extension of QSL and Catani et al's extension are \emph{noncontextual} -- so do not reproduce the contextual behaviour of Hofmann's three-path interferometer -- the behaviour of that interferometer is a proper example of a phenomenon that has in it the heart of quantum mechanics, according to Feynman.
Abstract One of the greatest mysteries that has puzzled and seemingly hoodwinked our very understanding of nature is the single electron double slit experiment – one that Feynman termed the central mystery of quantum mechanics. At the heart of this mystery is how can an electron that is a physical particle exhibit a wave-like property? We’ve proposed a non-counterintuitive way to explain this phenomenon called the randomly-jumping electron hypothesis, in which the electron randomly “jumps” in discrete succession to specific points only and not others which is what causes the electron to indeed be a classical particle only but is able to produce a wave-like interference pattern. To provide supporting evidence for our hypothesis, we’ve developed a computer program to simulate the single electron double slit experiment by treating the electron as a classical particle while still exhibiting wave-like fringes in agreement with real-world observed data of the single electron double slit experiment performed. Our interpretation does not set out to “solve” the mystery of why an electron can produce a wave-like interference pattern once and for all, however our hypothesis is a monism ontological interpretation that does address some of the crucial debates that have remained unsolved for 100 years since the formulation of quantum mechanics.
Gennaro Auletta University of Cassino gennaro.auletta@gmail.com Classically, the main ontological attempts at understanding quantum mechanics focus on the corpuscular behavior of these systems and especially on detection events, since these are the most classical phenomena that we have in such a context (indeed, they also require the presence of a classical apparatus). The main trend has been to consider wave-like aspects as deprived of ontological substrate and as reflecting rather the mathematical abstract formalism of the theory. The few attempts that have been done in order to assign some form of ontological reference to wave-like aspects have tried to interpreted this in terms of classical waves and have been disproved across the last 30 years (see Auletta & Tarozzi, 2004b; Auletta & Torcal, 2011). It is perhaps time to try a different approach, by renouncing any attempt at a classical ontology and by taking seriously into account the non-local aspects of the theory (which are mostly associated with wave-like phenomena). When we consider things in this perspective, we shall discover that all non-local phenomena in quantum mechanics, although different, have something in common: they all rely on non-local interdependencies among possible events or measurement outcomes (see Auletta, 2011). This is true for all interference phenomena for isolated systems, this is true for entangled systems, this is true for the Aharonov-Bohm effect, and so on. What is sad is that we do not have until now a name for denoting this mysterious reality. It is indeed mysterious, since we cannot directly measure it. There is in fact no way to have a direct experimental evidence of it. In most cases we can only reconstruct the interference profile after many experimental runs, a circumstance that has led many scientists to discard any ontological attribution to wave-like phenomena. However, a proposed