Protective Measurement and Quantum Reality
Towards a New Understanding of Quantum Mechanics
Published on 22. January 2015
Book
Hardback
250 pages
978-1-107-06963-3 (ISBN)
Description
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.
Reviews / Votes
'... 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-chanAdditional Endorsements forger 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 BooksMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
14 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 260 mm
Width: 183 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
672 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-107-06963-3 (9781107069633)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2016
Cambridge University Press
€82.99
Available for download
E-Book
01/2015
Cambridge University Press
€70.49
Available for download
Person
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.
Content
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 Diosi; 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.