Seven Experimental Proposals for Probing the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

David P Lowe

This paper proposes the Seven Rules of Admissibility as a minimal ontological framework for understanding how a coherent reality of continual becoming is possible. Rather than replacing established physics, the framework identifies the relational conditions that appear necessary for distinguishable states, ordered transitions, maintained identity, accumulated coherence, transformation, and constrained interaction. The paper distinguishes between foundational admissibility (universal relational conditions), situational admissibility (locally conditioned possibilities), and realization (what actually occurs within a particular relational history). It argues that increasing complexity need not arise from an ever-growing number of fundamental principles, but may instead emerge through the accumulated consequences of a small set of consistently applied relational conditions. The Seven Rules are presented as an ontological proposal rather than a new physical theory. Existing empirical descriptions provided by quantum mechanics, relativity, thermodynamics, and the other physical sciences remain unchanged. The purpose of the paper is to examine the minimal relational architecture that would allow those physical descriptions to participate in one coherent and continuously developing reality. This paper serves as the first publication in a planned ontological sequence exploring admissibility, foundational ontology, persistence, accumulated reality, and the emergence of increasingly complex relational organization.

Arthur Zajonc

Brian C. Hall

Mohammad Reza Pahlavani

This book has two sections. The section Selected Topics in Applications of Quantum Mechanics provides seven chapters about different applications of quantum mechanics in science and technology. The section Selected Topics in Foundations of Quantum Mechanics provides seven chapters about the foundations of quantum mechanics. This book is written by a community of expert scientists from different research institutes and universities from all over the world. Without a doubt, quantum mechanics is the greatest discovery of the 20th century. Therefore, its history and foundations are of great interest to scientists and students. This book covers some of the applications of quantum mechanics in nuclear physics, medical science, information technology, atomic physics and material science, as well as selected topics of quantum mechanics through different bases and ideas about quantum mechanics. The basic idea of the publication of this book is to make scientists and researchers, as well as graduate students, familiar with the foundations of quantum mechanics.

Schlosshauer, M., Kofler, J., Anton Zeilinger

Foundational investigations in quantum mechanics, both experimental and theoretical, gave birth to the field of quantum information science. Nevertheless, the foundations of quantum mechanics themselves remain hotly debated in the scientific community, and no consensus on essential questions has been reached. Here, we present the results of a poll carried out among 33 participants of a conference on the foundations of quantum mechanics. The participants completed a questionnaire containing 16 multiple-choice questions probing opinions on quantum-foundational issues. Participants included physicists, philosophers, and mathematicians. We describe our findings, identify commonly held views, and determine strong, medium, and weak correlations between the answers. Our study provides a unique snapshot of current views in the field of quantum foundations, as well as an analysis of the relationships between these views.

Andrzej Radosz, Katarzyna Ostasiewicz, Fedor Vasilievich Kusmartsev +5 more