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Born's Rule from the Principle of Unitary Equivalence
Linnaeus University, Faculty of Technology, Department of Mathematics.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0415-9583
2020 (English)In: Reports on mathematical physics, ISSN 0034-4877, E-ISSN 1879-0674, Vol. 85, no 2, p. 209-225Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Complex phase factors are viewed not only as redundancies of the quantum formalism but instead as remnants of unitary transformations under which the probabilistic properties of observables are invariant. It is postulated that a quantum observable corresponds to a unitary representation of an abelian Lie group, the irreducible subrepresentations of which correspond to the observable's outcomes. It is shown that this identification agrees with the conventional identification as self-adjoint operators. The upshot of this formalism is that one may 'second quantize' the representation to which an observable corresponds, thus obtaining the corresponding Fock space representation. This Fock space representation is then too identifiable as an observable in the same sense, the outcomes of which are naturally interpretable as ensembles of outcomes of the corresponding non-second quantized observable. The frequency interpretation of probability is adopted, i.e. probability as the average occurrence, from which Born's rule is deduced by enforcing the notion 'average' to such that are invariant under the second quantized unitary representation which defines the quantum observable to which the initial state is an outcome. The enforcement of this invariance is an application of the principle referred to as the Principle of unitary equivalence.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2020. Vol. 85, no 2, p. 209-225
Keywords [en]
complex phase invariance, Born's rule, the ensemble interpretation, quantum probability, contextual probability, principle of unitary invariance
National Category
Mathematics
Research subject
Natural Science, Mathematics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-94820DOI: 10.1016/S0034-4877(20)30025-2ISI: 000528253600003Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85083362227OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-94820DiVA, id: diva2:1430942
Available from: 2020-05-18 Created: 2020-05-18 Last updated: 2024-08-28Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Linking Probability Theory and Quantum Mechanics, and a Novel Formulation of Quantization
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Linking Probability Theory and Quantum Mechanics, and a Novel Formulation of Quantization
2023 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This doctoral thesis in mathematics consists of three articles that explore the probabilistic structure of quantum mechanics and quantization from a novel perspective.

The thesis adopts a probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics, which views the archetypical quantum experiments of Bell- and double-slit- type as violating the principle of non-contextuality, i.e., the assertion that all events and observables are always representable on one single Kolmogorovian probability space, rather than the principles of realism or locality. This probabilistic interpretation posits that quantum mechanics constitutes a probability theory that adheres to the principle of contextuality, and that quantum events explicitly occur at the level of measurement, rather than the level of that which is measured, as these are traditionally interpreted.

The thesis establishes a natural connection between the probabilistic structure of quantum mechanics, specifically Born’s rule, and the frequentist interpretation of probability. The major conceptual step in establishing this connection is to re-identify quantum observables instead as unitary representations of groups, whose irreducible sub-representations correspond to the observable’s different possible outcomes, rather than primarily as self- adjoint operators.

Furthermore, the thesis reformulates classical statistical mechanics in the formalism of quantum mechanics, known as the Koopman-von Neumann formulation, to demonstrate that classical statistical mechanics also adheres to the principle of contextuality. This finding is significant because it raises questions about the existence of a hidden-variable model of classical statistical mechanics of the kind as examined in Bell’s theorem, where this presumed hidden-variable model traditionally has been seen as that which distinguishes "classical" from "quantum" probability.A novel reformulation of quantization is proposed considering it rather in terms of the representation theory of Hamiltonian flows and their associated inherent symmetry group of symplectomorphisms. Contrary to the traditional view of quantization, this formulation can be regarded as compatible with the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics and offers a new perspective on the quantization of gravity.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Linnaeus University Press, 2023. p. 47
Series
Linnaeus University Dissertations ; 491
Keywords
quantum mechanics, contextuality, probabilistic interpretation, Born’s rule, frequentist interpretation, unitary representations, classical statistical mechanics, Koopman-von Neumann formulation, hidden-variable model, quantization.
National Category
Mathematics
Research subject
Mathematics, Mathematics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-121131 (URN)10.15626/LUD.491.2023 (DOI)9789180820240 (ISBN)9789180820257 (ISBN)
Public defence
2023-05-22, Weber, Hus K, Växjö, 09:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2023-05-31 Created: 2023-05-31 Last updated: 2024-03-26Bibliographically approved

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Wallentin, Fritiof

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