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Generalized Kochen-Specker theorem

  • Part III. Invited Papers Dedicated to Max Jammer
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Abstract

A generalized Kochen-Specker theorem is proved. It is shown that there exist sets of n projection operators, representing n yes-no questions about a quantum system, such that none of the 2″ possible answers is compatible with sum rules imposed by quantum mechanics. Namely, if a subset of commuting projection operators sums up to a matrix having only even or only odd eigenvalues, the number of “yes” answers ought to he even or odd, respectively. This requirement may lead to contradictions. An example is provided, involving nine projection operators in a 4-dimensional space.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, 32 000, Haifa, Israel

    Asher Peres

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  1. Asher Peres
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Additional information

Dedicated to Professor Max Jammer on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

I am grateful to N. D. Mermin for patiently explaining to me that ref. 11 was a Kochen-Specker argument, not one about locality, as I had wrongly thought. This work was supported by the Gerard Swope Fund, and the Fund for Encouragement of Research.

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Peres, A. Generalized Kochen-Specker theorem. Found Phys 26, 807–812 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02058634

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02058634

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