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arXiv:2206.10445 · Journal of Physics Communications

What does it take to solve the measurement problem?

Jonte R. Hance, Sabine Hossenfelder

Published Sep 30, 2022• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We summarise different aspects of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. We argue that it is a real problem which requires a solution, and identify the properties a theory needs to solve the problem. We show that no current interpretation of quantum mechanics solves the problem, and that, being interpretations rather than extensions of quantum mechanics, they cannot solve it. Finally, we speculate what a solution of the measurement problem might be good for.

DOI
10.1088/2399-6528/ac96cf

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Abstract We summarise different aspects of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. We argue that it is a real problem which requires a solution, and identify the properties a theory needs to solve the problem. We show that no current interpretation of quantum mechanics solves the problem, and that, being interpretations rather than extensions of quantum mechanics, they cannot solve it. Finally, we speculate what a solution of the measurement problem might be good for.
Abstract Although much has been written about the measurement problem, there is still significant disagreement about what the problem really is and what a solution should look like. In this chapter I present a brief introduction to quantum mechanics and the measurement problem, and then I argue that the measurement problem should be understood in part a problem of epistemology: solving the problem requires telling a consistent story about how the reality underlying quantum mechanics could allow us to reliably come to know about that reality via the medium of our empirical evidence for quantum mechanics, and an interpretation of quantum mechanics which fails to achieve this is self-undermining.
ABSTRACT This essay aims at reviewing one of the major difficulties affecting the standard formulation of quantum mechanics, that is, the well‐known measurement problem. As it will be explained, the latter originates as a consequence of the quantum theory's postulates. Referring to this, we analyze in particular the conceptual issues implied by the projection (or collapse) rule. After having presented the measurement problem, we then illustrate three possible solutions offered by major interpretations of/alternatives to quantum theory: Bohmian mechanics, Ghirardi–Rimini–Weber theories, and the many‐worlds interpretation. As the reader will see, these theoretical frameworks solve this issue by virtue of their unambiguous ontologies and consistent dynamical laws. Finally, a synopsis of the open debates and future perspectives concerning the measurement problem in relativistic contexts concludes the paper.
This thesis deals with the set of issues commonly known as the 'measurement problem' in quantum mechanics. The main thesis is that the problems are best understood as typically theoretical problems, in the sense that they are not problems directly concerned with the ability of the quantum theory to account for, or represent, actual measurements. This is contrary to the standard view that the quantum measurement problem is in fact about how to fit theory to experiment. I explain how I characterise a theoretical problem and argue against claims that quantum measurement theory is unrealistic or ineffective because it bears so little relation to actual measurement practice: I argue that the quantum theory's analysis of measurement need not be committed to doing for the experimenter what Henry Margenau and other critics think it should do. Its principal aim is to answer two questions. First, it tells us what properties are to be associated to quantum states; secondly, it tells us what, in the theory, a measurement must be if these properties are to emerge. I then discuss some of the specific aspects of the problem of measurement, in particular the results known as insolubility proofs of the quantum measurement problem and the characterisation of the quantum measurement interactions satisfying standard probabilistic constraints. I prove several results here, amongst them characterisations of all interactions jointly satisfying the conditions of unitarity and, first, objectification, then secondly, probability reproducibility conditions. These are the standard conditions which capture our intuitions about quantum measurement. I show how the results lead to negative consequences with respect to the interpretive questions in quantum mechanics. The discussion of these specific aspects of quantum measurements does, on the other hand, suggest a particular strategy for solving the problems. This is found in Arthur Fine's solution to the measurement problem, which is based on the idea of a selective interaction. The discussion of Fine's solution emphasises in general how simply implementing technical strategies is not sufficient to solve the measurement problem in quantum mechanics: further arguments must be given for why the strategy is appropriate, rather than just mathematically satisfactory. I claim that the arguments given by Fine are far from sufficient. The thesis concludes that, although the quantum theory of measurement is immune from Margenau's critique, and retains a theoretical autonomy, it is still plagued by numerous problems: the thesis identifies clearly what some of these problems are and considers some solutions, most of which, however, raise serious philosophical questions about the interpretation of quantum mechanics.
Abstract This book aims to reconceptualize the quantum measurement problem as a problem of epistemology, and to explore the epistemic problems faced by a number of popular interpretations of quantum mechanics. It argues that a number of well-known solutions to the measurement problem, including the many-worlds interpretation and the observer-relative interpretations, face potentially fatal epistemic problems. It also delves into the relationship between physics and epistemology, using the measurement problem to motivate an account of scneitifc epistemology which highlights the role of coherence in justifying the use we make of measurements and observations in the scientific process.
Abstract In rough terms, the quantum measurement problem is the problem of explaining how, when a system in a superposition state is measured, the pointer observable of the measuring apparatus is always found in a definite value. Although quantum mechanics involves several interpretative challenges, the measurement problem has been the main focus of the interest of physicists and philosophers working on the foundations of the theory: most interpretations were designed specifically to solve it. In this chapter, it is shown that the MHI offers a solution to the measurement problem for both ideal and non-ideal measurements, and that, in the non-ideal case, the interpretation distinguishes between reliable and non-reliable measurements. I have also explained how the MHI accounts for consecutive measurements. Finally, it is emphasized that the MHI approach provides a new, more physical understanding of the concept of quantum measurement.