An impossibility theorem for parameter independent hidden variable theories

DOI10.1016/J.SHPSB.2016.01.003MaRDI QIDQ291135zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Gijs Leegwater

Publication date 6 June 2016

Published in Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. Part B. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.08341

zbMATH Keywords

Bell inequalitieschained Bell inequalitieshidden variable theoriesno-go theoremparameter independencequantum mechanics

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Physics (00A79) History of mathematics in the 20th century (01A60) History of quantum theory (81-03) General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) Quantum measurement theory, state operations, state preparations (81P15) Quantum coherence, entanglement, quantum correlations (81P40) Alternative quantum mechanics (including hidden variables, etc.) (81Q65)

Abstract: Recently, Roger Colbeck and Renato Renner (C&R) have claimed that '[n]o extension of quantum theory can have improved predictive power'. If correct, this is a spectacular impossibility theorem for hidden variable theories, which is more general than the theorems of Bell and Leggett. C&R's claim essentially means that in any hidden variable theory that is compatible with quantum-mechanical predictions, probabilities of measurement outcomes are independent of these hidden variables. On closer inspection, however, the generality and validity of the claim can be contested. First, it is based on an assumption called 'Freedom of Choice'. As the name suggests, this assumption involves the independence of an experimenter's choice of measurement settings. But in the way C&R define this assumption, a no-signalling condition is surreptitiously presupposed, making the assumption less innocent than it sounds. When using this definition, any hidden variable theory violating Parameter Independence, such as Bohmian Mechanics, is immediately shown to be incompatible with quantum-mechanical predictions. Also, the argument of C&R is hard to follow and their mathematical derivation contains several gaps, some of which cannot be closed in the way they suggest. We shall show that these gaps can be filled. The issue with the 'Freedom of Choice' assumption can be circumvented by explicitly assuming Parameter Independence. This makes the result less general, but better founded. We then obtain an impossibility theorem for hidden variable theories satisfying Parameter Independence only. So, while quantum mechanics itself satisfies Parameter Independence, if a variable is added that changes the outcome probabilities, however slightly, Parameter Independence must be violated.

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Cites work

• A Suggested Interpretation of the Quantum Theory in Terms of "Hidden" Variables. I
• About possible extensions of quantum theory
• Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3128586 (Why is no real title available?)
• On the Colbeck-Renner theorem
• The Quantum Theory of Measurement
• Wringing out better Bell inequalities

Cited in

(9)

• Unifying hidden-variable problems from quantum mechanics by logics of dependence and independence
• Common denominator for value and expectation no-go theorems: extended abstract
• On the Colbeck-Renner theorem
• About possible extensions of quantum theory
• Context-independent mapping and free choice are equivalent: a general proof
• Superdeterministic hidden-variables models II: conspiracy
• Leggett's theorem without inequalities
• Could wavefunctions simultaneously represent knowledge and reality?
• Completely real? A critical note on the claims by Colbeck and Renner

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