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Disentangling myth from reality: Nonlocality was not proven.

Guillaume Attuel, Matthieu Kowalski

Published Jul 30, 2025• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

In the present letter, we cast special focus on the peculiarity of wave function collapse. Possibly its most salient manifestation lies in ``nonlocal entanglement'' when multiple correlated quantum objects are described in superposition as a non separable whole state. Coming from mainstream Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, it is claimed to have been experimentally verified in numerous variants through Bell, Clauser, Horne, Shimony and Holt's inequality criteria.Unfortunately, it is wrongly derived because of an original logical confusion doubled with unphysical hypotheses, both astonishingly remained unnoticed so far.As we demonstrate, reviewing at length the necessary material of probability theory and Hilbert, the latent information that solves the conundrum is not directly measurable from a quantum state as it lies in a phase shift between projection basis states.Consequently, it is now clear that the true nature of quantum mechanics is the coarse-grained statistical description of a ``classical vacuum,'' possibly in states of mixed oscillatory excitations, abiding by the laws of classical mechanics, confirming de Broglie's hypothesis.\pagebreak``\textit{The more cheese there is, the more holes there are. But the more holes there are, the less cheese there is. So the more cheese, the less cheese!}''

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I have been arguing that quantum nonlocality, deeply entrenched in the present formalism of quantum mechanics and widely believed as a reality by physicists, is in fact absent. Spooky nonlocal state reduction is the most, and perhaps the only irrational feature of present day physics. There are experimental results that reject nonlocal state reduction at a distance. Also, there are arguments that show that signal locality itself can be violated if there is true nonlocal collapse of the wavefunction. The Bell's inequalities, the violation of which polarized physicists in favour of nonlocality, arise not due to nonlocality, but due to ignoring prior information on correlations encoded in the phase of local probability amplitudes. Here I discuss an experiment involving particles entangled in energy and time variables that shows that there is no nonlocal state reduction during measurements on entangled particles. Quantum mechanics is inconsistent if it includes the concept of wavefunction collapse as a physical process for entangled multi-particle systems.

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In the present letter, we cast special focus on the peculiarity of wave function collapse. Possibly its most salient manifestation lies in nonlocal entanglement'' when multiple correlated quantum objects are described in superposition as a non separable whole state. Coming from mainstream Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, it is claimed to have been experimentally verified in numerous variants through Bell, Clauser, Horne, Shimony and Holt's inequality criteria.Unfortunately, it is wrongly derived because of an original logical confusion doubled with unphysical hypotheses, both astonishingly remained unnoticed so far.As we demonstrate, reviewing at length the necessary material of probability theory and Hilbert, the latent information that solves the conundrum is not directly measurable from a quantum state as it lies in a phase shift between projection basis states.Consequently, it is now clear that the true nature of quantum mechanics is the coarse-grained statistical description of a classical vacuum,'' possibly in states of mixed oscillatory excitations, abiding by the laws of classical mechanics, confirming de Broglie's hypothesis.\pagebreak``\textit{The more cheese there is, the more holes there are. But the more holes there are, the less cheese there is. So the more cheese, the less cheese!}''
Einstein became bothered by quantum mechanical action at a distance within two years of Schrödinger's introduction of his eponymous wave equation. If the wave function represents the "real" physical state of a particle, then the measurement of the particle's position would result in the instantaneous collapse of the wave function to the single, measured position. Such a process seemingly violates not only the Schrödinger equation but also special relativity. Einstein was not alone in this vexation; however, the dilemma eventually faded as physicists concentrated on using the Schrödinger equation to solve a plethora of pressing problems. For the next 30 years, wave function collapse, while occasionally discussed by physicists, was primarily a topic of interest for philosophers. That is, until 1964, when Bell introduced his famous inequality and maintained that its violation proved that quantum mechanics and, by implication, nature herself are nonlocal. Unfortunately, this brought the topic back to mainstream physics, where it has remained and continues to muddy the waters. To be sure, not all physicists are bothered by the apparent nonlocality of quantum mechanics. So where have those who embrace quantum nonlocality gone wrong? I argue that the answer is a gratuitous belief in the ontic nature of the quantum state.
The present standard interpretation of quantum mechanics invokes nonlocality and state reduction at space-like separated points during measurements on entangled systems. While there is no understanding of the physical mechanism of such nonlocal state reduction, the experimental verifications of quantum correlations different from that predicted by local realistic theories have polarized the physicists' opinion in favour of nonlocality. I show conclusively that there is no such spooky state reduction, vindicating the strong views against nonlocality held by Einstein and Popper. Experimental support to this proof is also discussed. The Bell's inequalities arise due to ignoring the phase information in the correlation function and not due to nonlocality. This result goes against the current belief of quantum nonlocality held by the majority of physicists; yet the proof is transparent and rigorous, and therefore demands a change in the interpretation of quantum mechanics and quantum measurements. The hypothesis of wave function collapse is inconsistent with experimental observations on entangled correlated systems.
It is shown that when properly analyzed using principles consistent with the use of a Hilbert space to describe microscopic properties, quantum mechanics is a local theory: one system cannot influence another system with which it does not interact. Claims to the contrary based on quantum violations of Bell inequalities are shown to be incorrect. A specific example traces a violation of the CHSH Bell inequality in the case of a spin-3/2 particle to the noncommutation of certain quantum operators in a situation where (non)locality is not an issue. A consistent histories analysis of what quantum measurements measure, in terms of quantum properties, is used to identify the basic problem with derivations of Bell inequalities: the use of classical concepts (hidden variables) rather than a probabilistic structure appropriate to the quantum domain. A difficulty with the original Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) argument for the incompleteness of quantum mechanics is the use of a counterfactual argument which is not valid if one assumes that Hilbert-space quantum mechanics is complete; locality is not an issue. The quantum correlations that violate Bell inequalities can be understood using local quantum common causes. Wavefunction collapse and Schr\odinger steering are calculational procedures, not physical processes. A general Principle of Einstein Locality rules out nonlocal influences between noninteracting quantum systems. Some suggestions are made for changes in terminology that could clarify discussions of quantum foundations and be less confusing to students.
Eighty years ago Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen demonstrated that instantaneous reduction of wave function, believed to describe completely a pair of entangled physical systems, led to EPR paradox. The paradox disappears in statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics (QM) according to which a wave function describes only an ensemble of identically prepared physical systems. QM predicts strong correlations between outcomes of measurements performed on different members of EPR pairs in far-away locations. Searching for an intuitive explanation of these correlations John Bell analysed so called local realistic hidden variable models and proved that correlations consistent with these models satisfy Bell inequalities which are violated by some predictions of QM and by experimental data. Several different local models were constructed and inequalities proven. Some eminent physicists concluded that Nature is definitely nonlocal and that it is acting according to a law of nonlocal randomness. According to these law perfectly random, but strongly correlated events, can be produced at the same time in far away locations and a local and causal explanation of their occurrence cannot be given. We strongly disagree with this conclusion and we prove the contrary by analysing in detail some influential finite sample proofs of Bell and CHSH inequalities and so called Quantum Randi Challenges. We also show how one can win so called Bell's game without violating locality of Nature. Nonlocal randomness is inconsistent with local quantum field theory, with standard model in elementary particle physics and with causal laws and adaptive dynamics prevailing in the surrounding us world. The experimental violation of Bell-type inequalities does not prove the nonlocality of Nature but it only confirms a contextual character of quantum observables and gives a strong argument against counterfactual definiteness and against a point of view according to which experimental outcomes are produced in irreducible random way.
The status of the quantum wave function is one of the most debated issues in quantum foundations---whether it corresponds directly to the reality or just represents knowledge or information about some aspect of reality. We propose a $\ensuremath{\psi}$-ontology theorem that excludes a class of ontological explanations where the quantum wave function is treated as mere information. Our result, unlike the acclaimed Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph's theorem, does not presume the absence of holistic ontological properties for product quantum preparations. At the core of our derivation, we utilize the seminal no-go result by Bell that rules out any local realistic world view for quantum theory. We show that the observed phenomenon of quantum nonlocality cannot be incorporated in a class of $\ensuremath{\psi}$-epistemic models. Using the well-known Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality, we obtain a threshold bound on the degree of epistemicity above which the ontological models are not compatible with quantum statistics.
I have been arguing that quantum nonlocality, deeply entrenched in the present formalism of quantum mechanics and widely believed as a reality by physicists, is in fact absent. Spooky nonlocal state reduction is the most, and perhaps the only irrational feature of present day physics. There are experimental results that reject nonlocal state reduction at a distance. Also, there are arguments that show that signal locality itself can be violated if there is true nonlocal collapse of the wavefunction. The Bell's inequalities, the violation of which polarized physicists in favour of nonlocality, arise not due to nonlocality, but due to ignoring prior information on correlations encoded in the phase of local probability amplitudes. Here I discuss an experiment involving particles entangled in energy and time variables that shows that there is no nonlocal state reduction during measurements on entangled particles. Quantum mechanics is inconsistent if it includes the concept of wavefunction collapse as a physical process for entangled multi-particle systems.