An Argument Against the Realistic Interpretation of the Wave Function

Foundations of Physics 46 (10):1229-1237 (2016)
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Abstract

Testable predictions of quantum mechanics are invariant under time reversal. But the evolution of the quantum state in time is not so, neither in the collapse nor in the no-collapse interpretations of the theory. This is a fact that challenges any realistic interpretation of the quantum state. On the other hand, this fact raises no difficulty if we interpret the quantum state as a mere calculation device, bookkeeping past real quantum events.

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Carlo Rovelli
Aix-Marseille University

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References found in this work

Relational quantum mechanics.Carlo Rovelli - 1996 - International Journal of Theoretical Physics 35 (8):1637--1678.
Relational EPR.Matteo Smerlak & Carlo Rovelli - 2007 - Foundations of Physics 37 (3):427-445.
Rovelli’s World.Bas C. van Fraassen - 2010 - Foundations of Physics 40 (4):390-417.

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