A conceptual variable is any variable defined by a person or by a group of persons. Such variables may be inaccessible, meaning that they cannot be measured with arbitrary accuracy on the physical system under consideration at any given time. An example may be the spin vector of a particle; another example may be the vector (position and momentum). In this paper, a space of inaccessible conceptual variables is defined, and group actions are defined on this space. Accessible functions are then defined on the same space. Assuming this structure, the basic Hilbert space structure of quantum theory is derived: Operators on a Hilbert space corresponding to the accessible variables are introduced; when these operators have a discrete spectrum, a natural model reduction implies a new model in which the values of the accessible variables are the eigenvalues of the operator. The principle behind this model reduction demands that a group action may also be defined also on the accessible variables; this is possible if the corresponding functions are permissible, a term that is precisely defined. The following recent principle from statistics is assumed: every model reduction should be to an orbit or to a set of orbits of the group. From this derivation, a new interpretation of quantum theory is briefly discussed: I argue that a state vector may be interpreted as connected to a focused question posed to nature together with a definite answer to this question. Further discussion of these topics is provided in a recent book published by the author of this paper.
A conceptual variable is any variable defined by a person or by a group of persons. Such variables may be inaccessible, meaning that they cannot be measured with arbitrary accuracy on the physical system under consideration at any given time. An example may be the spin vector of a particle; another example may be the vector (position and momentum). In this paper, a space of inaccessible conceptual variables is defined, and group actions are defined on this space. Accessible functions are then defined on the same space. Assuming this structure, the basic Hilbert space structure of quantum theory is derived: Operators on a Hilbert space corresponding to the accessible variables are introduced; when these operators have a discrete spectrum, a natural model reduction implies a new model in which the values of the accessible variables are the eigenvalues of the operator. The principle behind this model reduction demands that a group action may also be defined also on the accessible variables; this is possible if the corresponding functions are permissible, a term that is precisely defined. The following recent principle from statistics is assumed: every model reduction should be to an orbit or to a set of orbits of the group. From this derivation, a new interpretation of quantum theory is briefly discussed: I argue that a state vector may be interpreted as connected to a focused question posed to nature together with a definite answer to this question. Further discussion of these topics is provided in a recent book published by the author of this paper.
In [1] the general problem of deriving the Hilbert space formulation in quantum theory is discussed from the point of view of conceptual variables. A conceptual variable is any variable defined by a person or by a group of persons. These variables may be inaccessible, i.e., impossible to assign numerical value to either by experiments or by other means, or accessible. As one basic assumption, a group K of actions on a space of an inaccessible variable is defined, and accessible functions of this variable are introduced. When such a function is permissible, a term that is precisely defined here, a group of actions G can be introduced on the range of the function. In general in this paper only the existence of the group G is assumed. By using group representation theory on the groups defined on a class of accessible variables, basic Hilbert space formalism is restored under the assumption that the observator or the set of observators has two maximally accessible variables in his (their) mind(s). Operators are connected to each variable, and in the discrete case the possible values of the variables are given by the eigenvalues of the operators. The entire approach may be connected to a general epistemic interpretation of quantum theory. In this paper the main results from [1] are made more precise and more general. It turns out that the conditions of the main theorem there can be weakened in two essential ways: 1) No measurements need to be assumed, so the result is also applicable to general decision situations; 2) States can have arbitrary phase factors. Some consequences of the main result are also briefly discussed here.
A different approach towards quantum theory is proposed in this paper. The basis is taken to be conceptual variables, physical variables that may be accessible or inaccessible, i.e., it may be possible or impossible to assign numerical values to them. In an epistemic process, the accessible variables are just ideal observations as observed by an actor or by some communicating actors. Group actions are defined on these variables, and using group representation theory this is the basis for developing the Hilbert space formalism here. Operators corresponding to accessible conceptual variables are derived as a result of the formalism, and in the discrete case it is argued that the possible physical values are the eigenvalues of these operators. The Born formula is derived under specific assumptions. The whole discussion here is a supplement to the author's book [1]. The interpretation of quantum states (or eigenvector spaces) implied by this approach is as focused questions to nature together with sharp answers to those questions. Resolutions if the identity are then connected to the questions themselves; these may be complementary in the sense defined by Bohr. This interpretation may be called a general epistemic interpretation of quantum theory. It is similar to Zwirn's recent Convival Solipsism, and also to QBism, and more generally, can be seen as a concrete implementation of Rovelli's Relational Quantum Mechanics. The focus in the present paper is, however, as much on foundation as on interpretation. But the simple consequences of an epistemic interpretation for some so called quantum paradoxes are discussed. Connections to statistical inference theory are discussed in a preliminary way, both through an example and through a brief discussion of quantum measurement theory.
Abstract In the book Helland (2021) the general problem of reconstructing the Hilbert space formulation in quantum theory is discussed from the point of view of what I called conceptual variables, any variables defined by a person or by a group of persons. These variables may be inaccessible, i.e., impossible to assign numerical value to by experiments or by measurements, or accessible. One basic assumption in Helland (2021) and here is that group actions g ∈ G are defined on a space where some maximally accessible variable varies, and then accessible functions of these maximal variables are introduced. By using group representation theory the basic Hilbert space formalism is restored under the assumption that the observator or the set of observators has two related maximally accessible variables in his (their) mind(s). The notion of relationship is precisely defined here. Symmetric (self-adjoint) operators are connected to each variable, and in the discrete case the possible values of the variables are given by the eigenvalues of the operators. In this paper the main results from Helland (2021) are made more precise and more general. It turns out that the conditions of the main theorem there can be weakened in two essential ways: 1) No measurements need to be assumed, so the result is also applicable to general decision situations; 2) States can have arbitrary phase factors. Some consequences of this approach towards quantum theory are also discussed here.
A new approach to quantum theory is proposed in this paper. The basis is taken to be theoretical variables, variables that may be accessible or inaccessible, i.e., it may be possible or impossible for an observer to assign arbitrarily sharp numerical values to them. In an epistemic process, the accessible variables are just ideal observations connected to an observer or to some communicating observers. Group actions are defined on these variables, and group representation theory is the basis for developing the Hilbert space formalism here. Operators corresponding to accessible theoretical variables are derived, and in the discrete case, it is proved that the possible physical values are the eigenvalues of these operators. The focus of the paper is some mathematical theorems paving the ground for the proposed foundation of quantum theory. It is shown here that the groups and transformations needed in this approach can be constructed explicitly in the case where the accessible variables are finite-dimensional. This simplifies the theory considerably: To reproduce the Hilbert space formulation, it is enough to assume the existence of two complementary variables. The essential use of inaccessible variables can be avoided by basing the approach on some simple category theory.The interpretation inferred from the proposed foundation here may be called a general epistemic interpretation of quantum theory. A special case of this interpretation is QBism; it also has a relationship to several other interpretations.
The final version of a new approach to quantum theory is formulated in this paper. The basis is taken to be theoretical variables, variables that may be accessible or inaccessible, i.e., it may be possible or impossible for an observer to assign arbitrarily sharp numerical values to them. In an epistemic process, the accessible variables are just ideal observations connected to an observer or to some communicating observers. Group actions are defined on these variables, and group representation theory is the basis for developing the Hilbert space formalism here. Operators corresponding to accessible theoretical variables are derived, and in the finite-dimensional case, it is proved that the possible physical values are the eigenvalues of these operators. The focus of the paper is some mathematical theorems paving the ground for the proposed foundation of quantum theory. It is indicated here that the groups and transformations needed in this approach can be constructed explicitly in the case where the accessible variables are finite-dimensional. In case, this simplifies the theory considerably: To reproduce the Hilbert space formulation, it is enough to assume the existence of two complementary variables. What is new in this version of the article, is that the assumptions given behind the main theorems are simplified considerably, and that all proofs are given explicitly or refered to in other recent papers.
A new approach to quantum theory is proposed in this paper. The basis is first taken to be theoretical variables, variables that may be accessible or inaccessible, i.e., it may be possible or impossible for an actor to assign arbitrarily sharp numerical values to them. In an epistemic process, the accessible variables are just ideal observations connected to an actor or to some communicating actors. Group actions are defined on these variables, and group representation theory is the basis for developing the Hilbert space formalism here. Operators corresponding to accessible theoretical variables are derived, and in the discrete case, it is proved that the possible physical values are the eigenvalues of these operators. The focus of the paper is some mathematical theorems paving the ground for the proposed foundation of quantum theory. It is shown here that the groups and transformations needed in this approach can be constructed explicitly in the case where the accessible variables are finite-dimensional. This simplifies the theory considerably: To reproduce the Hilbert space formulation, it is enough to assume the existence of two complementary variables. To focus only on physical variables rather than mathematical variables, the concept of inaccessible variables is then replaced by the concept of notions, and in this connection, aspects of category theory partly replace group theory. The interpretation inferred from the proposed foundation here may be called a general epistemic interpretation of quantum theory. A special case of this interpretation is QBism; it also has a relationship to several other interpretations.