•  163
    Could wavefunctions simultaneously represent knowledge and reality?
    with John Rarity and James Ladyman
    Quantum Studies: Mathematics and Foundations 9 (3): 333-341. 2022.
    In discussion of the interpretation of quantum mechanics the terms ‘ontic’ and ‘epistemic’ are often used in the sense of pertaining to what exists, and pertaining to cognition or knowledge respectively. The terms are also often associated with the formal definitions given by Harrigan and Spekkens for the wavefunction in quantum mechanics to be ψ-ontic or ψ-epistemic in the context of the ontological models framework. The formal definitions are contradictories, so that the wavefunction can be ei…Read more
  •  182
    The wave function as a true ensemble
    with Sabine Hossenfelder
    Proceedings of the Royal Society 478 (2262). 2022.
    In quantum mechanics, the wavefunction predicts probabilities of possible measurement outcomes, but not which individual outcome is realised in each run of an experiment. This suggests that it describes an ensemble of states with different values of a hidden variable. Here, we analyse this idea with reference to currently known theorems and experiments. We argue that the ψ-ontic/epistemic distinction fails to properly identify ensemble interpretations and propose a more useful definition. We the…Read more
  •  23
    Bell’s theorem is often said to imply that quantum mechanics violates local causality, and that local causality cannot be restored with a hidden-variables theory. This however is only correct if the hidden-variables theory fulfils an assumption called Statistical Independence. Violations of Statistical Independence are commonly interpreted as correlations between the measurement settings and the hidden variables. Such correlations have been discarded as “fine-tuning” or a “conspiracy”. We here p…Read more
  •  16
    Correction to: How Quantum is Quantum Counterfactual Communication?
    with James Ladyman and John Rarity
    Foundations of Physics 51 (2): 1-3. 2021.
    A correction to this paper has been published: doi:10.1007/s10701-021-00450-z
  •  288
    How Quantum is Quantum Counterfactual Communication?
    with James Ladyman and John Rarity
    Foundations of Physics 51 (1): 1-17. 2021.
    Quantum Counterfactual Communication is the recently-proposed idea of using quantum physics to send messages between two parties, without any matter/energy transfer associated with the bits sent. While this has excited massive interest, both for potential ‘unhackable’ communication, and insight into the foundations of quantum mechanics, it has been asked whether this process is essentially quantum, or could be performed classically. We examine counterfactual communication, both classical and qua…Read more