Measurement and “beables” in quantum mechanics

Abstract

It is argued that the measurement problem reduces to the problem of modeling quasi-classical systems in a modified quantum mechanics with superselection rules. A measurement theorem is proved, demonstrating, on the basis of a principle for selecting the quantities of a system that are determinate (i.e., have values) in a given state, that after a suitable interaction between a systemS and a quasi-classical systemM, essentially only the quantity measured in the interaction and the indicator quantity ofM are determinate. The theorem justifies interpreting the noncommutative algebra of observables of a quantum mechanical system as an algebra of “beables,” in Bell's sense.