Do We Really Understand Quantum Mechanics?

by Franck Laloë

Overview

Quantum mechanics impacts on many areas of physics from pure theory to applications. However it is difficult to interpret, and philosophical contradictions and counter-intuitive results are apparent at a fundamental level. This book presents current understanding of the theory, providing a historical introduction and discussing many of its interpretations. Fully revised from the first edition, this book contains state-of-the-art research including loophole-free experimental Bell test, and theorems on the reality of the wave function including the PBR theorem, and a new section on quantum simulation. More interpretations are now included, and these are described and compared, including discussion of their successes and difficulties. Other sections have been expanded, including quantum error correction codes and the reference section. It is ideal for researchers in physics and maths, and philosophers of science interested in quantum physics and its foundations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108758963
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/14/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Franck Laloë is a Researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and belongs to the Laboratoire Kastler Brossel at the Ecole Normale Supérieure. He is co-author of the volumes of Quantum Mechanics (1977), with Clause Cohen-Tannoudji and Bernard Diu, one of the most well-known textbooks on quantum mechanics.

Table of Contents

Foreword; Preface; 1. Historical perspective; 2. Present situation, remaining conceptual difficulties; 3. The theorem of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen; 4. Bell theorem; 5. Other inequalities, Cirelson's limit, signaling; 6. More theorems; 7. Quantum entanglement; 8. Applications of quantum entanglement; 9. Quantum measurement; 10. Experiments: quantum reduction seen in real time; 11. Various interpretations and reconstructions of quantum mechanics; 12. Conclusion; 13. Annex: basic mathematical tools of quantum mechanics; Appendix A. Mental content of the state vector; Appendix B. Bell inequalities in non-deterministic local theories; Appendix C. Attempting to construct a 'separable' quantum theory; Appendix D. Maximal probability for a state; Appendix E. The influence of pair selection; Appendix F. Impossibility of superluminal communication; Appendix G. Quantum measurements at different times; Appendix H. Manipulating and preparing additional variables; Appendix I. Correlations and trajectories in Bohmian theory; Appendix J. Models for spontaneous reduction of the state vector; Appendix K. Consistent families of histories; Appendix L. Attractive Schrödinger dynamics; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

‘The book attempts to provide a balanced view of the conceptual difficulties of quantum theory.’ K.-E. Hellwig, zbMATH

From the Publisher