Principles of Quantum Mechanics

Rabinowitz, M

As shown in my previous paper, quantum mechanics (QM) directly violates the weak equivalence principle (WEP) in general, and thus indirectly violates the strong equivalence principle (SEP) in all dimensions. The present paper shows that quantum mechanics also directly violates the SEP unless it is arbitrarily abetted in hindsight. Vital domains are shown to exist in which quantum gravity would be non-applicable. There are classical subtleties in which the SEP appears to be violated, but is not. Neutron free fall interference experiments in a gravitational field are examined, as is Galileo's falling body assertion and the misconception it leads to.

Alfred Landé

Jean-Louis Basdevant

Richard Dawid, Simon Friederich

We discuss the proposal by Sebens and Carroll to derive the Born rule in Everettian quantum mechanics from a principle they call ‘ESP-QM’. We argue that the proposal fails: ESP-QM is not, as Sebens and Carroll argue, a ‘less general version’ of an independently plausible principle, ESP, and can only be motivated by the empirical success of quantum mechanics, including use of the Born rule. Therefore, ESP-QM cannot have the status of a meta-theoretical principle of reasoning and provides no viable basis for deriving the Born rule.

Philip D. Mannheim

We discuss our understanding of the equivalence principle in both classical mechanics and quantum mechanics. We show that not only does the equivalence principle hold for the trajectories of quantum particles in a background gravitational field, but also that it is only because of this that the equivalence principle is even to be expected to hold for classical particles at all.

S. M. Blinder