Interpretations of Atomic Constitution

Arthur Stewart Eve

Arthur Stewart Eve

J. W. Nicholson

Feng Yu

This paper connects the hard problem of consciousness to the interpretation of quantum mechanics. It shows that constitutive Russellian pan-protopsychism (CRP) is compatible with Everett’s relative-state (RS) interpretation. Despite targeting different problems, CRP and RS are related, for they both establish symmetry between micro- and macrosystems, and both call for a deflationary account of Subject. The paper starts from formal arguments that demonstrate the incompatibility of CRP with alternative interpretations of quantum mechanics, followed by showing that RS entails Russellian pan-protopsychism. Therefore, CRP and RS are mutually supportive. It then provides a unified ontological picture by combining CRP and RS. The challenge faced by CRP, the combination problem, can be resolved by adopting a RS version of quantum mechanics. Technically, this is achieved by a co-consciousness relation capable of explaining the difference between first-person and third-person perspectives. The hierarchical structure of the relation removes any concern on the structural mismatch between the physical and the phenomenal.

Houcem Jabri, Hichem Eleuch, Tahar Djerad

We consider a highly excited atom in a good cavity strongly pumped by coherent light. We derive the autocorrelation function of the field emergent from the cavity. We show that the autocorrelation function can be expressed in terms of the atomic dissipation rate. In order to distinguish between the resonant and the non-resonant case, we introduce a parameter interpreted as the measure of the relative detuning between the pump laser and the excited atom frequency. By selecting the parameter time, we determine the lifetime of the excited atom. This method constitutes an interesting alternative for internal atomic parameter determination.