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Logical inference derivation of the quantum theoretical description of Stern–Gerlach and Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bohm experiments

Highlights: •Logical inference connects data and their description in terms of concepts. •It is used to derive the description of Stern–Gerlach experiments. •Logical inference yields the description of Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bohm experiments. •These logical inference derivations do not rely on concepts of quantum theory. -- Abstract: It is shown that the quantum-theoretical descriptions of idealized Stern–Gerlach and Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bohm experiments result from a logical inference treatment of robust experiments, without relying on concepts of quantum theory. For concreteness, the derivation is given for the case that the Stern–Gerlach magnet deflects the beam in three different directions, which in quantum theory corresponds to a description in terms of spin-1 particles. The logical inference description of the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bohm experiment is shown to contain the quantum theoretical description as a particular case.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Separation of conditions as a prerequisite for quantum theory

We introduce the notion of “separation of conditions” meaning that a description of statistical data obtained from experiments, performed under a set of different conditions, allows for a decomposition such that each partial description depends on mutually exclusive subsets of these conditions. Descriptions that allow a separation of conditions are shown to entail the basic mathematical framework of quantum theory. The Stern–Gerlach and the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bohm experiment with three, respectively nine possible outcomes are used to illustrate how the separation of conditions can be used to construct their quantum theoretical descriptions. It is shown that the mathematical structure of separated descriptions implies that, under certain restrictions, the time evolution of the data can be described by the von Neumann/Schrödinger equation.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Weak values in collision theory

Weak measurements have an increasing number of applications in contemporary quantum mechanics. They were originally described as a weak interaction that slightly entangled the translational degrees of freedom of a particle to its spin, yielding surprising results after post-selection. That description often ignores the kinetic energy of the particle and its movement in three dimensions. Here, we include these elements and re-obtain the weak values within the context of collision theory by two different approaches, and prove that the results are compatible with each other and with the results from the traditional approach. To provide a more complete description, we generalize weak values into weak tensors and use them to provide a more realistic description of the Stern–Gerlach apparatus.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A Geometrical Approach to Bell's Theorem

Bell's theorem can be proved through simple geometrical reasoning, without the need for the Psi function, probability distributions, or calculus. The proof is based on N. David Mermin's explication of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-Bohm experiment, which involves Stern-Gerlach detectors which flash red or green lights when detecting spin-up or spin-down. The statistics of local hidden variable theories for this experiment can be arranged in colored strips from which simple inequalities can be deduced. These inequalities lead to a demonstration of Bell's theorem. Moreover, all local hidden variable theories can be graphed in such a way as to enclose their statistics in a pyramid, with the quantum-mechanical result lying a finite distance beneath the base of the pyramid.

Rubincam, David Parry↗