The Principle of Supplementarity: A Contextual Probabilistic Viewpoint to Complementarity, the Interference of Probabilities and Incompatibility of Variables in Quantum Mechanics

Foundations of Physics 35 (10):1655-1693 (2005)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

We presented a contextual statistical model of the probabilistic description of physical reality. Here contexts (complexes of physical conditions) are considered as basic elements of reality. There is discussed the relation with QM. We propose a realistic analogue of Bohr’s principle of complementarity. In the opposite to the Bohr’s principle, our principle has no direct relation with mutual exclusivity for observables. To distinguish our principle from the Bohr’s principle and to give better characterization, we change the terminology and speak about supplementarity, instead of complementarity. Supplementarity is based on the interference of probabilities. It has quantitative expression trough a coefficient which can be easily calculated from experimental statistical data. We need not appeal to the Hilbert space formalism and noncommutativity of operators representing observables. Moreover, in our model there exists pairs of supplementary observables which cannot be represented in the complex Hilbert space. There are discussed applications of the principle of supplementarity outside quantum physics.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 94,045

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Analytics

Added to PP
2013-10-30

Downloads
162 (#119,512)

6 months
9 (#436,380)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile