Schrödinger’s Reaction to the EPR Paper

Arthur I. Fine

H. Sakai, T. Saito, C. Rangacharyulu +1 more

Guido Bacciagaluppi, Elise Crull

Schrödinger’s reaction to the EPR paper is less widely known than, say, Bohr’s, and yet our analysis shows that it fits rather nicely with contemporary concerns in foundations of quantum mechanics. Taking the lead both from the EPR paper and from Pauli’s remarks in their correspondence, Schrödinger shows that EPR’s locality considerations lead to the assignment of values to all quantum mechanical observables, but that under apparently mild assumptions this then leads to contradictions of the von Neumann type. This dilemma (as he explicitly calls it) is thus similar to more recent debates between nonlocality on the one hand and no-go results on the other (whether through violation of the Bell inequalities, the Kochen–Specker theorem, or what you will). We shall first look at Schrödinger’s fundamental worries in the years leading up to 1935. The chapter then discusses in detail the direct reaction by Schrödinger to EPR. It will, however, not exhaust our discussion of Schrödinger, who is a recurring character in the book, having poked and prodded his peers on EPR during the whole summer and autumn of 1935.

Robert Golub, S. K. Lamoreaux

Abstract “EINSTEIN ATTACKS QUANTUM MECHANICS” stated the headline in the New York Times, much to the chagrin of Einstein. He deplored Podolsky’s release of the Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen (EPR) paradox paper to the general public prior to its scientific review. We see how Einstein’s ideas developed both before and after the EPR paper, in which the formulation did not exactly please him. We follow the reactions of the physics community to EPR. EPR eventually led to Bell’s inequalities, meant to challenge the current form of quantum theory. Instead, it led to the experimental confirmation of its most enigmatic effect—the entanglement of two spatially separated particles.

Mara Beller, Arthur I. Fine

M. A. B. Whitaker