SMuK 2021 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

AGPhil: Arbeitsgruppe Philosophie der Physik

AGPhil 4: Quantum Theory 3

AGPhil 4.2: Talk

Wednesday, September 1, 2021, 14:30–15:00, H8

The Wave-Function Must Be Psi-Ontic — •Mario Hubert — California Institute of Technology

The PBR-theorem aimed at proving that the wave-function has to represent objective features of a single physical system. There have been many attempts to interpret the wave-function as not representing the objective physical state of a quantum system by abandoning one of the two explicit assumptions of the PBR-theorem: (i) the existence of objective physical states and (ii) preparation independence. I argue that each theory that violates either of these assumptions meets unsurmountable problems. Although these alternative theories are physically possible, they are for several reasons implausible or problematic. I, therefore, advocate to search for quantum theories that fulfill the assumptions of the PBR-theorem.