Completing Quantum Mechanics with Quantized Hidden Variables

preprint2015arXivOpen access

Abstract

I explore the possibility that a quantum system S may be described completely by the combination of its standard quantum state ∣ψ⟩|ψ\rangle and a (hidden) quantum state ∣ϕ⟩|ϕ\rangle (that lives in the same Hilbert space), such that the outcome of any standard projective measurement on the system S is determined once the two quantum states are specified. I construct an algorithm that retrieves the standard quantum-mechanical probabilities, which depend only on ∣ψ⟩|ψ\rangle, by assuming that the (hidden) quantum state ∣ϕ⟩|ϕ\rangle is drawn at random from some fixed probability distribution Pr(.) and by averaging over Pr(.). Contextuality and Bell nonlocality turn out to emerge automatically from this algorithm as soon as the dimension of the Hilbert space of S is larger than 2. If ∣ϕ⟩|ϕ\rangle is not completely random, subtle testable deviations from standard quantum mechanics may arise in sequential measurements on single systems.

Explore this paper’s authors, topics and related work.

Building this map preview

BZPEER is loading the nearby papers, people, topics and institutions for this page.

Reviews 0

Write a reviewWrite

No reviews yet.

Discussion 0

Add a commentWrite

No comments yet.