Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

This Element introduces the most puzzling questions at the foundations of quantum mechanics and surveys how physicists and philosophers of physics have attempted to resolve them.

Emily Adlam (Author)

9781108794442, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 February 2021

75 pages
22.9 x 15 x 0.5 cm, 0.13 kg

'… what the author accomplishes is remarkable … she manages to introduce the formalism of the theory and to provide a discussion of quantum non­ locality, quantum contextuality, the reality of the quantum state, and the main interpretations of quantum mechanics, among other topics. In addition, she offers proof of the principal theorems involved. The whole tour does not result in an anodyne summary of well-known things. On the contrary, it incorporates original views and arguments, reflecting the novel perspective of the author on the field.' Albert Solé and Antonio Vassallo, Metascience

Quantum mechanics is an extraordinarily successful scientific theory. But more than 100 years after it was first introduced, the interpretation of the theory remains controversial. This Element introduces some of the most puzzling questions at the foundations of quantum mechanics and provides an up-to-date and forward-looking survey of the most prominent ways in which physicists and philosophers of physics have attempted to resolve them. Topics covered include nonlocality, contextuality, the reality of the wavefunction and the measurement problem. The discussion is supplemented with descriptions of some of the most important mathematical results from recent work in quantum foundations, including Bell's theorem, the Kochen-Specker theorem and the PBR theorem.

1. Introduction
2. Preliminaries
3. Non-locality
4. Contextuality
5. The measurement problem
6. Further topics
7. The future of quantum foundations.

Subject Areas: Quantum physics [quantum mechanics & quantum field theory PHQ], Philosophy of science [PDA], Philosophy [HP]