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arXiv:2601.04230

Overlooked local interactions in the EPR Paradox

N.O. Chudak, O. S. Potiienko, I. V. Sharph, V. P. Smolyar

Published Jan 3, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Five objections to the conventional arguments underlying the EPR \enquote{paradox} are presented. It is shown that for entangled subsystems the formation of the post-measurement state necessarily involves local interactions affecting both subsystems, contradicting standard EPR assumptions. Correlations between measurements by remote apparatuses are shown to be consistent with relativistic principles. For entangled eigenstates of total momentum or total spin, eliminating redundant degrees of freedom in analogy with generalized Hamiltonian dynamics prevents the emergence of the EPR \enquote{paradox}. A different paradox is identified for a quantum charged particle, whose electric field is shown to be determined by potential configurations encoded in the quantum state rather than by actual measurement events.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2601.04230

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Five objections to the conventional arguments underlying the EPR \enquote{paradox} are presented. It is shown that for entangled subsystems the formation of the post-measurement state necessarily involves local interactions affecting both subsystems, contradicting standard EPR assumptions. Correlations between measurements by remote apparatuses are shown to be consistent with relativistic principles. For entangled eigenstates of total momentum or total spin, eliminating redundant degrees of freedom in analogy with generalized Hamiltonian dynamics prevents the emergence of the EPR \enquote{paradox}. A different paradox is identified for a quantum charged particle, whose electric field is shown to be determined by potential configurations encoded in the quantum state rather than by actual measurement events.
Despite its remarkable success in describing microscopic phenomena, quantum mechanics continues to pose unresolved foundational questions concerning measurement, nonlocality, wavefunction collapse, and the nature of physical reality. These issues were highlighted by the EPR paradox. Quantum mechanics predicts that measuring one particle’s observable instantaneously determines the state of the other, seemingly violating special relativity’s prohibition of faster-than-light influences and suggesting an incomplete description of physical reality. However, Bell’s theorem has largely ruled out local hidden variable theories. In this paper, I critically examine the assumptions in deriving Bell’s theorem and demonstrate that the theorem does not apply strictly to quantum mechanics. By assuming measurement is always accompanied by uncontrollable environment interactions, I show that quantum theory can be local and realism with decoherence in EPR-like measurement. Specifically, I apply the quantum decoherence framework, pioneered by Zeh, Zurek and Leggett to analyze an EPR-like system using system-environment interactions as a measurement model. The results illustrate that measurement on one entangled particle does not instantaneously collapse the system's wavefunction. Instead, the local wavefunctions of the measured particle and its environment evolve dynamically, while the remote particle’s wavefunction remains unchanged. Environment-induced decoherence selects pointer states and rapidly suppresses quantum correlations through strictly local interactions, giving rise to the appearance of wavefunction collapse. These findings challenge the conventional interpretation of Bell’s theorem and suggest that quantum mechanics fundamentally respects locality and realism if the wavefunction is treated as an ontic entity. This work offers a potential path toward a locally realistic quantum theory in alignment with Einstein’s vision. It not only strengthens the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics, but also carries tremendous implications for quantum information processing and computing.
We introduce a principle, implicitly contained in Schroedinger's paper (Schr35), which allows a proof of the non-existence of the EPR-locality paradox in the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The paradox is shown to be well-posed already in the simplest example of an entangled state of two spins one-half, independently of the (well-taken) objections by Araki and Yanase that the measurement of spin is not a local measurement. We assume that any measurement results in the collapse of the wave-packet.
The famous EPR paradox shows that if we describe quantum particles in the usual way -- by their wave functions -- then we get the following seeming contradiction. If we entangle the states of the two particles, then move them far away from each other, and measure the state of the first particle, then the state of the second particle immediately changes -- which contradicts to special relativity, according to which such immediate-action-at-a-distance is not possible. It is known that, from the physical viewpoint, this is not a real paradox: if we measure any property of the second particle, the results will not change whether we perform the measurement on the first particle or not. What the above argument shows is that the usual wave function description of a quantum state does not always adequately describe the corresponding physics. In this paper, we propose a new, more physically adequate description of a quantum state, a description in which there is no EPR paradox: measurements performed at the first particle does not change the state of the remote second one.
Formulas for calculating the joint probability of outcomes of measurements performed on mutually non-interacting component systems of a combined system prepared in an entangled state are presented. The formulas are based on non-relativistic quantum mechanics. An interpretation of the joint probability which conforms to the principle of local causality is proposed. The joint probability of outcomes of spin measurements performed on the well-known system of two spatially separated spin-1/2 particles prepared initially in the singlet state is used to illustrate the proposed interpretation of theoretical and experimental results.
Quantum mechanics, despite its extraordinary success in describing microscopic phenomena, continues to raise foundational questions concerning measurement, nonlocality, and the nature of physical reality. These issues are exemplified by the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox and the Bell inequality, which contrast quantum correlations with classical notions of locality and realism. In this work, we critically examine the assumptions underlying Bell’s theorem in light of the incompatible and contextual nature of quantum observables. We show that Bell’s constraint on simultaneous definite values for incompatible observables, together with the assumption of hidden variables, is not applicable to quantum mechanics itself, which is inherently nonclassical and contextual. When measurement is modeled as a local system-environment interaction within the framework of quantum decoherence, the resulting dynamics remain entirely local and unitary in the EPR scenario. Decoherence naturally selects pointer states and suppresses interference, giving rise to the appearance of wavefunction collapse consistent with quantum predictions. Importantly, the Bell correlations obtained in this framework reproduce the standard quantum results and are independent of both system-bath and inter-bath interactions, which affect only the rate of decoherence. Our analysis suggests that, in the EPR scenario, quantum mechanics can be both local and realistic when the wavefunction is treated as an ontic description of reality within the decoherence framework, offering a potential route toward a locally realistic quantum theory aligned with Einstein’s vision. This work contributes to a more rigorous foundation for quantum mechanics, providing insights that can accelerate progress in quantum computing and nanoenergy harvesting.