The Theory of Local Beables

J. S. Bell

Travis Norsen

Matthias Egg

Lee Smolin

I discuss the idea that the beables underlying quantum physics are non-local and relational, and give an example of a dynamical theory of such beables based on a matrix model, which is the bosonic sector of the BFSS model. Given that the same model has been proposed as a description of M theory, this shows that quantum mechanics may be emergent from a theory of gravity from which space is also emergent.

Peter J. Lewis

The call to supplement the quantum wave function with local beables is almost as old as quantum mechanics. But what exactly is the problem with the wave function as the representation of a quantum system? I canvass three potential problems with the wave function: the well-known problems of incompleteness and dimensionality, and the lesser known problem of non-locality introduced recently by Myrvold. Building on Myrvold's insight, I show that the standard ways of introducing local beables into quantum mechanics are unsuccessful. I consider whether we really need local beables, and assess the prospects for a new theory of local beables.