Theory of Probability and Its Applications
A Formula of Total Probability with the Interference Term and the Hilbert Space Representation of the Contextual Kolmogorovian Model
Andrei Yu. Khrennikov
Abstract
We compare the classical Kolmogorov and quantum probability models. We show that the gap between these models is not so huge as was commonly believed. The main structures of quantum theory (interference of probabilities, Born's rule, complex probabilistic amplitudes, Hilbert state space, representation of observables by operators) are present in a latent form in the Kolmogorov model. In particular, we obtain “interference of probabilities” without appealing to the Hilbert space formalism. We interpret “interference of probabilities” as a perturbation (by a cos-term) of the conventional formula of total probability. Our classical derivation of quantum probabilistic formalism can stimulate applications of quantum methods outside of the microworld, for instance, in psychology, biology, economy, and other domains of science.