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A Critical Analysis of the Quantum Nonlocality Problem: On the Polemic Assessment of What Bell Did

Justo Pastor Lambare

Published Nov 28, 2023• 0 citations

Abstract

We review John Stewart Bell's works and analyze his arguments regarding nonlocality as he developed them from 1964 until his sudden and unexpected death in 1990. Although the alleged nonlocal character of quantum mechanics is inextricably related to the formulation of the Bell theorem, that relation is usually inappropriately posed and disagrees with Bell's own formulation. The departure from the clear line of reasoning that Bell tried to convey has contributed to a polarization of part of the scientific community. That the interpretation of a result whose empirical verification deserved a Nobel Prize remains so controversial is unfortunate. We show how the correct appreciation of Bell's rationale calls for reformulating a widespread argument on quantum nonlocality, yielding a more balanced perspective of the problem. We highlight a more formal proof of quantum mechanics' violation of local causality. Finally, we mention a few alternatives that may justify considering quantum mechanics as a local theory.

DOI: 10.20944/preprints202205.0015.v6

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We review John Stewart Bell's works from a historical perspective and analyze his arguments regarding nonlocality as he developed them from 1964 until his sudden and unexpected death in 1990. Although the alleged nonlocal character of quantum mechanics is inextricably related to the formulation of the Bell theorem, that relation is usually inappropriately posed and disagrees with Bell's own formulation. The departure from the clear line of reasoning that Bell tried to convey has contributed to a polarization of part of the scientific community into radical irreconcilable positions. We show how the correct appreciation of Bell's rationale calls for reformulating a widespread argument on quantum nonlocality yielding a more balanced perspective of the problem. We highlight a more formal proof of quantum mechanics' violation of local causality. Finally, we mention a few alternatives that may justify considering quantum mechanics as a local theory.

Through a historical analysis of John Stewart Bell's works, we confront a stance that distorts his views on the nature of quantum theory, more concretely, on quantum nonlocality. We briefly analyze Bell's arguments for quantum nonlocality as he developed them from 1964 until his sudden and unexpected death in 1990. As is well known, the alleged nonlocal character of quantum mechanics is inextricably related to the formulation of the Bell theorem. However, the departure from the clear line of reasoning that John Bell tried to convey has led to a polarization of part of the scientific community into radical irreconcilable positions. We show how the correct appreciation of Bell's work calls for reinterpreting the usual significance given to the Bell theorem yielding a more rational perspective of the problem. We formalize the correct argument sustaining the nonlocal character of quantum mechanics and comment on alternatives that may justify considering quantum mechanics as a local theory.

Despite their Nobel prize-winning empirical verification, the interpretation of the Bell inequality remains controversial. The alleged nonlocal character of quantum mechanics is inextricably related to the formulation of the Bell theorem. However, as is usually presented, the relation disagrees with Bell's approach and is inappropriately posed. The departure from the clear line of reasoning that Bell tried to convey has contributed to a polarization of part of the scientific community. We review part of Bell's work and show how the correct appreciation of Bell's rationale calls for reformulating a widespread argument on quantum nonlocality, yielding a more balanced perspective of the problem. We highlight a more formal proof of quantum mechanics' violation of local causality. For completeness, we mention a few alternatives that may justify considering quantum mechanics as a local theory.

The alleged nonlocal character of quantum mechanics is inextricably related to the formulation of the Bell theorem. That relation, however, is commonly incorrectly assessed. The departure from the clear line of reasoning that John Bell tried to convey has led to a polarization of part of the scientific community into radical irreconcilable positions. We show how the correct appreciation of Bell's work calls for reinterpreting the usual significance given to the Bell theorem yielding a more rational perspective of the problem. We formalize the correct argument sustaining the nonlocal character of quantum mechanics and also comment on alternatives that may justify considering quantum mechanics as a local theory.

Despite their Nobel prize-winning empirical confirmation, the interpretation of the Bell inequality remains controversial. By carefully analyzing Bell's work on nonlocality, we show how the correct appreciation of Bell's rationale calls for reformulating a widespread argument on quantum nonlocality, yielding a more consistent formulation of the problem. We delve into a formal proof of quantum mechanics' violation of local causality strikingly overlooked in favor of less appropriate arguments. For completeness, we also mention a few alternatives that may rationally justify considering quantum mechanics as a local theory.

The alleged nonlocal character of quantum mechanics is inextricably related to the formulation of the Bell theorem. However, as we shall see, that relation is commonly incorrectly assessed. The departure from the clear line of reasoning that John Bell tried to convey has led to a polarization of part of the scientific community into radical irreconcilable positions. We show how the correct appreciation of Bell's work calls for reinterpreting the usual significance given to the Bell theorem yielding a more rational perspective of the problem. Given the present relevance of the Bell-type inequalities in quantum information technology and quantum foundations, further clarification of their relation to the nonlocality conundrum deserves due attention. The exposition is also of didactic value. It shows the problems arising from incorrect inferences and superfluous metaphysical ideas.