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86We present a theory of discontinuous motion of particles in continuous space-time. We show that the simplest nonrelativistic evolution equation of such motion is just the Schroedinger equation in quantum mechanics. This strongly implies what quantum mechanics describes is discontinuous motion of particles. Considering the fact that space-time may be essentially discrete when considering gravity, we further present a theory of discontinuous motion of particles in discrete space-time. We show that…Read more
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55It is argued that the components of the superposed wave function of a measuring device, each of which represents a definite measurement result, do not correspond to many worlds, one of which is our world, because all components of the wave function can be measured in our world by a serious of protective measurements, and they all exist in this world.
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18It has been shown that the Lorentz transformations in special relativity can be derived in terms of the principle of relativity and certain properties of space and time such as homogeneity. In this paper, we argue that the free Schrodinger equation in quantum mechanics may also be regarded as a consequence of the homogeneity of space and time and the principle of relativity when assuming linearity of time evolution.
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588We investigate the implications of protective measurement for de Broglie-Bohm theory, mainly focusing on the interpretation of the wave function. It has been argued that the de Broglie-Bohm theory gives the same predictions as quantum mechanics by means of quantum equilibrium hypothesis. However, this equivalence is based on the premise that the wave function, regarded as a Ψ-field, has no mass and charge density distributions. But this premise turns out to be wrong according to protective measu…Read more
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710We show that the physical meaning of the wave function can be derived based on the established parts of quantum mechanics. It turns out that the wave function represents the state of random discontinuous motion of particles, and its modulus square determines the probability density of the particles appearing in certain positions in space.
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1068We investigate the meaning of the wave function by analyzing the mass and charge density distributions of a quantum system. According to protective measurement, a charged quantum system has effective mass and charge density distributing in space, proportional to the square of the absolute value of its wave function. In a realistic interpretation, the wave function of a quantum system can be taken as a description of either a physical field or the ergodic motion of a particle. The essential diffe…Read more
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3049It is shown that the heuristic "derivation" of the Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics textbooks can be turned into a real derivation by resorting to spacetime translation invariance and relativistic invariance.
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337A possible quantum basis of panpsychismNeuroquantology 1 (1): 4-9. 2001.We show that consciousness may violate the basic quantum principle, according to which the nonorthogonal quantum states can't be distinguished. This implies that the physical world is not causally closed without consciousness, and consciousness is a fundamental property of matter.
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1043We investigate the validity of the field explanation of the wave function by analyzing the mass and charge density distributions of a quantum system. It is argued that a charged quantum system has effective mass and charge density distributing in space, proportional to the square of the absolute value of its wave function. This is also a consequence of protective measurement. If the wave function is a physical field, then the mass and charge density will be distributed in space simultaneously fo…Read more
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21It is shown that the de Broglie-Bohm theory has a potential problem concerning the mass and charge distributions of a quantum system such as an electron. According to the de Broglie-Bohm theory, the mass and charge of an electron are localized in a position where its Bohmian particle is. However, protective measurement indicates that they are not localized in one position but distributed throughout space, and the mass and charge density of the electron in each position is proportional to the mod…Read more
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344In quantum mechanics, the wave function of a N-body system is a mathematical function defined in a 3N-dimensional configuration space. We argue that wave function realism implies particle ontology when assuming: (1) the wave function of a N-body system describes N physical entities; (2) each triple of the 3N coordinates of a point in configuration space that relates to one physical entity represents a point in ordinary three-dimensional space. Moreover, the motion of particles is random and disc…Read more
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29A possible mechanism of nonlinear quantum evolution is introduced and its implications for quantum communication are investigated. First, it is demonstrated that an appropriate combination of wavefunction collapse and the consciousness of observer may permit the observer to distinguish nonorthogonal quantum states in principle, and thus consciousness will introduce certain nonlinearity into quantum dynamics. Next, it is shown that the distinguishability of nonorthogonal states can be used to ach…Read more
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54Is an Electron a Charge Cloud? A Reexamination of Schrödinger’s Charge Density HypothesisFoundations of Science 23 (1): 145-157. 2018.This article re-examines Schrödinger’s charge density hypothesis, according to which the charge of an electron is distributed in the whole space, and the charge density in each position is proportional to the modulus squared of the wave function of the electron there. It is shown that the charge distribution of a quantum system can be measured by protective measurements as expectation values of certain observables, and the results as predicted by quantum mechanics confirm Schrödinger’s original …Read more
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17The answer may be yes. A discrete model of energy-conserved wavefunction collapse is proposed. It is shown that the model is consistent with existing experiments and our macroscopic experience.
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27We show that the de Broglie-Bohm theory is inconsistent with the established parts of quantum mechanics concerning its physical content. According to the de Broglie-Bohm theory, the mass and charge of an electron are localized in a position where its Bohmian particle is. However, protective measurement implies that they are not localized in one position but distributed throughout space, and the mass and charge density of the electron in each position is proportional to the modulus square of its …Read more
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1306A Model of Wavefunction Collapse in Discrete Space-TimeInternational Journal of Theoretical Physics 45 (10): 1965-1979. 2006.We give a new argument supporting a gravitational role in quantum collapse. It is demonstrated that the discreteness of space-time, which results from the proper combination of quantum theory and general relativity, may inevitably result in the dynamical collapse of thewave function. Moreover, the minimum size of discrete space-time yields a plausible collapse criterion consistent with experiments. By assuming that the source to collapse the wave function is the inherent random motion of particl…Read more
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132We show that the motion of particles may be essentially discontinuous and random.
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35This article introduces the method of protective measurement and discusses its deep implications for the foundations of quantum mechanics.
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329Based on an analysis of protective measurements, we show that the quantum state represents the physical state of a single quantum system. This result is more definite than the PBR theorem [Pusey, Barrett, and Rudolph, Nature Phys. 8, 475 (2012)].
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16It is argued that in Bohmian mechanics the effective wave function of a subsystem of the universe does not encode the influences of other particles on the subsystem. This suggests that the ontology of Bohmian mechanics does not consist only in Bohmian particles and their positions. It is nonetheless pointed out that since the wave function in configuration space may represent the state of ergodic motion of non-Bohmian particles in three-dimensional space, the ontology of Bohmian mechanics may st…Read more
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22Recently Lewis et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 150404 ] demonstrated that additional assumptions such as preparation independence are always necessary to rule out a psi-epistemic model, in which the quantum state is not uniquely determined by the underlying physical state. Their conclusion is based on an analysis of conventional projective measurements. Here we demonstrate that protective measurements, which are distinct from projective measurements, already shows that distinct quantum states cann…Read more
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296A quantum theory of consciousnessMinds and Machines 18 (1): 39-52. 2007.The relationship between quantum collapse and consciousness is reconsidered under the assumption that quantum collapse is an objective dynamical process. We argue that the conscious observer can have a distinct role from the physical measuring device during the process of quantum collapse owing to the intrinsic nature of consciousness; the conscious observer can know whether he is in a definite state or a quantum superposition of definite states, while the physical measuring device cannot “know”…Read more
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64We suggest a new answer to this intriguing question and argue that the answer may have implications for the solutions to the measurement problem. The main basis of our analysis is the doctrine of psychophysical supervenience. First of all, based on this doctrine, we argue that an observer in a quantum superposition or a quantum observer has a definite conscious experience, which is neither disjunctive nor illusive. The inconsistency of this result with the bare theory is further analyzed, and it…Read more
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45An argument for ψ-ontology in terms of protective measurementsStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 52 (Part B): 198-202. 2015.The ontological model framework provides a rigorous approach to address the question of whether the quantum state is ontic or epistemic. When considering only conventional projective measurements, auxiliary assumptions are always needed to prove the reality of the quantum state in the framework. For example, the Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph theorem is based on an additional preparation independence assumption. In this paper, we give a new proof of psi-ontology in terms of protective measurements in the…Read more
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18Quantum Mechanics and PanpsychismIn Michel Weber (ed.), Handbook of Whiteheadian Process Thought, De Gruyter. pp. 223-234. 2008.
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45In this article, we give a clearer argument for the reality of the wave function in terms of protective measurements, which does not depend on nontrivial assumptions and also overcomes existing objections. Moreover, based on an analysis of the mass and charge properties of a quantum system, we propose a new ontological interpretation of the wave function. According to this interpretation, the wave function of an N-body system represents the state of motion of N particles. Moreover, the motion of…Read more
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689It is shown that the superposed wave function of a measuring device, in each branch of which there is a definite measurement result, does not correspond to many mutually unobservable but equally real worlds, as the superposed wave function can be observed in our world by protective measurement.
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79This thesis is an attempt to reconstruct the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics. First, we argue that the wave function in quantum mechanics is a description of random discontinuous motion of particles, and the modulus square of the wave function gives the probability density of the particles being in certain locations in space. Next, we show that the linear non-relativistic evolution of the wave function of an isolated system obeys the free Schrödinger equation due to the requirements …Read more
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50Does gravity induce wavefunction collapse? An examination of Penrose's conjectureStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 44 (2): 148-151. 2013.According to Penrose, the fundamental conflict between the superposition principle of quantum mechanics and the principle of general covariance of general relativity entails the existence of wavefunction collapse, e.g. a quantum superposition of two different space–time geometries will collapse to one of them due to the ill-definedness of the time-translation operator for the superposition. In this paper, we argue that Penrose's conjecture on gravity's role in wavefunction collapse is debatable.…Read more
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40In this paper, we propose an ontological interpretation of the wave function in terms of random discontinuous motion of particles. According to this interpretation, the wave function of an N-body quantum system describes the state of random discontinuous motion of N particles, and in particular, the modulus squared of the wave function gives the probability density that the particles appear in every possible group of positions in space. We present three arguments supporting this new interpretati…Read more
Shan Gao
Shanxi University
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Shanxi UniversityResearch Center For Philosophy Of Science And TechnologyProfessor
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Mind |