Abstract ‘Seeing the Impossible’ delves into the details of pilot-wave theory and of how it can account for the mysteries of quantum physics. We begin with the iconic two-slit experiment and show how it can be understood in terms of particles moving through one hole or the other (despite widespread claims to the contrary). We give a clear explanation for so-called quantum randomness in terms of unknown ‘initial conditions’. We also show how Born’s usual formula, for quantum probability, can emerge from the peculiar particle motions predicted by the laws of pilot-wave theory. The chapter ends with a detailed discussion of how pilot-wave theory explains nonlocality, or spooky action at a distance, between widely separated particles.
Abstract ‘Seeing the Impossible’ delves into the details of pilot-wave theory and of how it can account for the mysteries of quantum physics. We begin with the iconic two-slit experiment and show how it can be understood in terms of particles moving through one hole or the other (despite widespread claims to the contrary). We give a clear explanation for so-called quantum randomness in terms of unknown ‘initial conditions’. We also show how Born’s usual formula, for quantum probability, can emerge from the peculiar particle motions predicted by the laws of pilot-wave theory. The chapter ends with a detailed discussion of how pilot-wave theory explains nonlocality, or spooky action at a distance, between widely separated particles.
Abstract ‘Origins of Pilot-Wave Theory’ delves into the historical origins of pilot-wave theory and clarifies many of the misunderstandings surrounding it. We begin with an account of Louis de Broglie’s work in the 1920s, including his lecture at the famous but widely misunderstood 1927 Solvay conference. We show how this troubled theory has been repeatedly dismissed and frequently misrepresented. We describe the rise of the notorious measurement problem, the widespread confusion about the nature of probability in pilot-wave theory, as well as attempts to associate the theory with mysticism and the paranormal. The chapter ends with a careful assessment of the scientific evidence for nonlocality (action at a distance), in the form of measured violations of Bell’s inequality.
Abstract Chapter 1, ‘Before the Quantum’, outlines the key ideas of the book. After a brief introduction to pilot-wave theory, we highlight its nonlocality—the ‘spooky’ action at a distance between widely separated systems. We then introduce the ‘conspiracy’ of why nonlocality cannot be controlled for practical superluminal signalling. To explain it, we draw an analogy with the classical ‘heat death’ of the universe theorised in the nineteenth century. The conspiracy can be understood as a peculiarity of the state of ‘quantum death’ in which we happen to live, where all systems are subject to the same quantum noise or uncertainty. We explain how this state arose from a past process of quantum relaxation (analogous to thermal relaxation). Finally, we outline three possible ways to escape quantum death, and thereby to access the wider physics beyond quantum mechanics.
Abstract So, where do we go from here? It is apparent from the last two chapters that nature denies us the easy way out. The clear experimental demonstration of quantum entanglement rules out the idea of local hidden variables, one of the simpler solutions to the conceptual problems of quantum theory. For the time being at least, we are forced to live with the consequences of entanglement, non-locality, and ‘spooky’ action at a distance. This might make some of us uncomfortable, but there is no solace in the Copenhagen interpretation, which does not provide us with any answers and is still regarded by many to be no interpretation at all. And, lest we forget, there remain the problems of interpreting the meaning of quantum probability and the collapse of the wave function. Even those who adhere to the Copenhagen view tend to put aside or disregard the conceptual difficulties that these issues raise as they analyse the results from the latest particle-accelerator experiment. This is not a very satisfactory situation.
Abstract Young’s double slit experiments, which represent the mystery of quantum mechanics, have been interpreted by quantum probability waves and de Broglie-Bohm’s trajectory/pilot waves. To study in detail, the double slit experiments are extended to the cross double slit experiments. We argue that an interpretation must be able to explain all of the double slit and cross double slit experiments consistently. To test the interpretations, the comprehensive double slit experiments have been performed, which challenge both the wave interpretation and the trajectory interpretation. The cross double slit experiments and comprehensive double slit experiments provide a new tool for studying the mystery of double slit, wave-particle duality, complementarity principle, wave theory and trajectory theory. In this article, we review the cross double slit experiments and comprehensive double slit experiments, and report new experiments.
Abstract Beyond the Quantum offers a panoramic rethink of quantum physics, with potentially revolutionary implications for cosmology, quantum gravity, and quantum technology. Properly understood, ‘pilot-wave theory’ provides a deeper foundation for quantum mechanics, while also going beyond it. First proposed in the 1920s by French aristocrat and physicist Louis de Broglie, and revived in the 1950s by American physicist David Bohm, the theory posits hidden particle motions we cannot currently see or control. The theory is usually regarded as merely an alternative account of the same physics we already know. In fact, pilot-wave theory implies a wealth of new and radical physics beyond the reach of quantum mechanics. Pilot-wave theory tells us that quantum physics is a special case of something broader and deeper. In more general ‘nonequilibrium’ conditions, Einstein’s relativity and Heisenberg’s uncertainty break down. Superluminal signalling becomes possible, and quantum particles can be clearly seen and controlled. This new physics could have left traces in the early universe, and it might be visible today in radiation from exploding primordial black holes. Harnessing this new physics would have transformative technological implications, in particular for communication, cryptography, and computing. Drawing intriguing parallels between the present era of quantum physics and past episodes of scientific confusion, this book tells the story of how pilot-wave theory was discovered and abandoned, revived and reconstructed, and how today it can pave the way to a new and radical physics beyond the quantum.
Abstract Young’s double slit experiments, which represent the mystery of quantum mechanics, have been interpreted by quantum probability waves and pilot waves. In this article, to study the mystery, we proposed and carried out comprehensive double slit experiments, which demonstrate two postulates related to double slit experiments: (1) before striking at the slide of a double slit, photons emitted by a laser source behave as particles; (2) before striking at the detector, photons behave as particles. Progress in studying the mystery of the double slit experiment is presented.