Abstract
In the orthodox language of Quantum Mechanics the observer occupies a central position and the only “real events” are measuring results. We argue here that this narrow view is not forced upon us by the lessons of Quantum Physics. An alternative language, closer to the intuitive picture of the working physicst in many areas, is not only possible but warranted. It needs, however, a different conceptual picture ultimately implying also a different mathematical structure. Only a rudimentary outline of this picture will be attempted here. The importance of idealizations, unavoidable in any scheme, is emphasized. A brief discussion of the EPR-phenomenon is added.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Haag, R.: Thoughts on the synthesis of quantum physics and general relativity and the role of space-time. Nucl. Phys. B. (Proc. Suppl.)18B, 135 (1990)
Haag, R.: Fundamental irreversibility and the concept of events. Commun. Math. Phys.123, 245 (1990); Events, histories, irreversibility. In: H. Ezawa, Y. Murayama, (ed.), Proc. Conf. on Quantum Control and Measurement. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science Publ., 1993
Gell-Mann, M., Hartle, J.B.: In: W. Zurek (ed.), Complexity, Entropy and the Physics of Information. Reading, MA, Addison Wesley, 1990.
— K.K. Phua and Y. Yamaguchi (ed.), Proc. of the 25th International Conf. on High Energy Physics, Singapore 1990, Singapore: World Scientific, 1990.
— J. Halliwell J. Perez-Mercader, and W. Zurek (ed.), Proc. of the NATO-Workshop on the Physical Origins of Time Asymmetry. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994
Griffiths, R.B.: J. Stat. Phys.36, 219 (1984)
Omnès, R.: The interpreation of Quantum Mechanics, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994
Dowker, F., Kent, A.: On the Consistent Histories Approach to Quantum Mechanics, DAMTP preprint, Cambridge 1994
Blanchard, Ph., Jadezyk, A.: On the interaction between classical and quantum systems. Phys. Lett. A175, 157 (1993); Event enhanced quantum theory and piecewise deterministic dynamics. Ann. d. Physik4, 583 (1995)
Whitehead, A.N.: Process and Reality. Original edition, 1929
Finkelstein, D.: Space-Time Code. Phys. Rev.184, 1261 (1968)
Weizsäcker, C.F.v.: Probability and Quantum Mechanics. Br. J. Phil. Sci.24, 321 (1973)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by A. Jaffe
Dedicated to the memory of Misha Polivanov who strove to conserve a cultural heritage in dark times
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haag, R. An evolutionary picture for quantum physics. Commun.Math. Phys. 180, 733–743 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02099630
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02099630