Protective Measurement and Quantum Reality: Towards a New Understanding of Quantum Mechanics

by Shan Gao (Editor)

Overview

Protective measurements offer an intriguing method for measuring the wave function of a single quantum system. With contributions from leading physicists and philosophers of physics - including two of the original discoverers of this important method - this book explores the concept of protective measurement, investigating its broad applications and deep implications. Addressing both physical and philosophical aspects, it covers a diverse range of topics, including experimental possibility of protective measurements, connections with the PBR theorem, and the implications of protective measurements for understanding the nature of quantum reality. Including a clear and concise introduction to standard quantum mechanics, conventional measurements, and the fundamentals of protective measurements, this is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers interested in the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107069633
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/22/2015
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	7.32(w) x 10.31(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Shan Gao is an Associate Professor at the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on the foundations of quantum mechanics, and the history of modern physics.

Table of Contents

1. Protective measurements: an introduction Shan Gao; Part I. Fundamentals and Applications: 2. Protective measurements of the wave function of a single system Lev Vaidman; 3. Protective measurement, postselection and the Heisenberg representation Yakir Aharonov and Eliahu Cohen; 4. Protective and state measurement: a review Gennaro Auletta; 5. Determination of the stationary basis from protective measurement on a single system Lajos Diósi; 6. Weak measurements, the energy-momentum tensor and the Bohm approach Robert Flack and Basil J. Hiley; Part II. Meanings and Implications: 7. Measurement and metaphysics Peter J. Lewis; 8. Protective measurements and the explanatory gambit Michael Dickson; 9. Realism and instrumentalism about the wave function: how should we choose? Mauro Dorato and Frederico Laudisa; 10. Protective measurements and the PBR theorem Guy Hetzroni and Daniel Rohrlich; 11. The roads not taken: empty waves, waveform collapse and protective measurement in quantum theory Peter Holland; 12. Implications of protective measurements on de Broglie–Bohm trajectories Aurelien Drezet; 13. Entanglement, scaling, and the meaning of the wave function in protective measurement Maximilian Schlosshauer and Tangereen V. B. Claringbold; 14. Protective measurements and the nature of the wave function within the primitive ontology approach Vincent Lam; 15. Reality and meaning of the wave function Shan Gao; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'… the book constitutes an impressive collection, with valuable and interesting contributions from physicists as well as philosophers on a topic that is vastly under-investigated, especially within the philosophical community. I find this instructive: physicists, guided by the empiricist idea that something real should also be measurable, found protective measurements to be a game-changer in the realism-antirealism debate in the quantum domain, legitimizing the ontological view of the wave function. In contrast, as [author of chapter 7. Peter J.] Lewis pointed out, the majority of the philosophical community was already convinced that the epistemic view was doomed and thus did not need protective measurements. Protective Measurement and Quantum Reality bridges this gap.' Valia Allori, BJPS Review of Books

From the Publisher