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Three Attempts at Two Axioms for Quantum Mechanics

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Probability in Physics

Part of the book series: The Frontiers Collection ((FRONTCOLL))

Abstract

The axioms of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics lack clear physical meaning. In particular, they say nothing about nonlocality. Yet quantum mechanics is not only nonlocal, it is twice nonlocal: there are nonlocal quantum correlations, and there is the Aharonov-Bohm effect, which implies that an electric or magnetic field here may act on an electron there. Can we invert the logical hierarchy? That is, can we adopt nonlocality as an axiom for quantum mechanics and derive quantum mechanics from this axiom and an additional axiom of causality? Three versions of these two axioms lead to three different theories, characterized by “maximal nonlocal correlations”, “jamming” and “modular energy”. Where is quantum mechanics in these theories?

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, 84105, Israel

    Daniel Rohrlich

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  1. Daniel Rohrlich
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Correspondence to Daniel Rohrlich .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Philosophy, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel

    Yemima Ben-Menahem

  2. Dept. Philosophy, University of Haifa, Haifa, 31905, Israel

    Meir Hemmo

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Rohrlich, D. (2012). Three Attempts at Two Axioms for Quantum Mechanics. In: Ben-Menahem, Y., Hemmo, M. (eds) Probability in Physics. The Frontiers Collection. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21329-8_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21329-8_12

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