The cellular automaton interpretation of quantum mechanics (Q302235)

This book is an account of the author's deviating views on the physical interpretation of quantum theory. Over the years he developed a deterministic view to fill the known gaps and argued that one could avoid the usual Bell inequality arguments that do not allow hidden variables. The author shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with M. Veltman in 1999. His contributions to physics include a proof that gauge theories are renormalizable. So why this book? I had to read the ``Motivation for this Work'' several times to understand why it was written. The main message is that quantum mechanics is just a tool and a mathematical theory for a deterministic version of it is needed. No problem, since most theoretical physicists agree that mathematics is the road to reality (R. Penrose). In 1948, von Neumann started a general and logical Theory of Automata. An Automaton is any piece of the reality, be it physical or biological, whose behavior can be precisely defined in mathematical terms. Even we as observers are controlled by deterministic laws and so we have no free will. The fact that everything, including our action, is controlled by deterministic laws is now called ``Superdeterminism''. The author addresses the famous Gedanken Experiment by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen back in 1935 which created a stir among physicists and since then has played a role in philosophical discussions. The conclusion of the EPR paradox was that objective reality is incompatible with the assumption the ordinary quantum mechanics is complete. The book has two parts. In Part I, the philosophy of the Cellular Automaton Interpretation is described and then begins to deal with the important subject of the present investigation: the interpretation of quantum mechanics, starting with the Copenhagen Interpretation and the Bell Inequality. Subsequently, the Cellular Automaton Interpretation of quantum mechanics is formulated. The measurement riddles and the collapse of the wave function are resolved. In Part II, explicit calculation are carried out and calculation tools are developed. Symmetries and bosonic and fermionic field theories are discussed. All this material is presented in a pedagogical style.