Entanglement and decoherence : foundations and modern trends

Andreas Buchleitner, Carlos Viviescas, Markus Tiersch

M. Dugić

Fundamental as well as applied science appear substantially to depend on certain progress in the foundations of quantum mechanics, and particularly on the so‐called decoherence theory. Here, I present some new results on the foundations of the decoherence theory as well as a rather wide interest in this concern in the different fields of extensive scientific research (e.g. in modern physics, theory of macromolecules, modern technology, quantum information and computation theory).

José Antonio Fornés

David Wallace

Decoherence is widely felt to have something to do with the quantum measurement problem, but getting clear on just what is made difficult by the fact that the 'measurement problem', as traditionally presented in foundational and philosophical discussions, has become somewhat disconnected from the conceptual problems posed by real physics. This, in turn, is because quantum mechanics as discussed in textbooks and in foundational discussions has become somewhat removed from scientific practice, especially where the analysis of measurement is concerned. This paper has two goals: firstly (§§1-2), to present an account of how quantum measurements are actually dealt with in modern physics (hint: it does not involve a collapse of the wave function) and to state the measurement problem from the perspective of that account; and secondly (§§3-4), to clarify what role decoherence plays in modern measurement theory and what effect it has on the various strategies that have been proposed to solve the measurement problem.

Hisham B. Ghassib

In this paper, we argue that there are foundational dilemmas in theoretical physics related to the concept of reality and the nature of mathematics in physics. Physical theory is treated as a conceptual organism which develops under the weight of its internal contradictions. The paper discusses in depth the problem of objective reality in physics and its relation to scientific practice. Then, it explores the problematic relation between physical meaning and mathematics in modern physical theory, followed by a discussion of the trend of contemporary physics to replace physical principles with pure mathematical principles. Finally, it discusses the problem of logical coherence in modern physical theory. The paper emphasizes the importance of resolving these dilemmas to the proper practice of theoretical physics.