Quantum mechanics at the crossroads: new perspectives from history, philosophy and physics PDF
Preview Quantum mechanics at the crossroads: new perspectives from history, philosophy and physics
t h e f r o n t i e r s c o l l e c t i o n t h e f r o n t i e r s c o l l e c t i o n SeriesEditors: A.C.Elitzur M.P.Silverman J.Tuszynski R.Vaas H.D.Zeh Thebooksinthiscollectionaredevotedtochallengingandopenproblemsattheforefront ofmodernscience,includingrelatedphilosophicaldebates.Incontrasttotypicalresearch monographs, however, they strive to present their topics in a manner accessible also to scientificallyliteratenon-specialistswishingtogaininsightintothedeeperimplicationsand fascinatingquestionsinvolved.Takenasawhole,theseriesreflectstheneedforafundamental andinterdisciplinaryapproachtomodernscience.Furthermore,itisintendedtoencourage active scientists in all areas to ponder over important and perhaps controversial issues beyond their own speciality. Extending from quantum physics and relativity to entropy, consciousnessandcomplexsystems–theFrontiersCollectionwillinspirereaderstopush backthefrontiersoftheirownknowledge. 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Thorndike QUANTUM MECHANICS AT THE CROSSROADS New Perspectives from History, Philosophy and Physics With46Figures 123 ProfessorJamesEvans ProfessorAlanS.Thorndike UniversityofPugetSound UniversityofPugetSound DepartmentofPhysics DepartmentofPhysics NorthWarnerStreet1500 NorthWarnerStreet1500 98416Tacoma,USA 98416Tacoma,USA e-mail:[email protected] e-mail:[email protected] SeriesEditors: AvshalomC.Elitzur RüdigerVaas Bar-IlanUniversity, UniversityofGießen, UnitofInterdisciplinaryStudies, CenterforPhilosophyandFoundationsofScience 52900Ramat-Gan,Israel 35394Gießen,Germany email:[email protected] email:[email protected] MarkP.Silverman H.DieterZeh DepartmentofPhysics,TrinityCollege, UniversityofHeidelberg, Hartford,CT06106,USA InstituteofTheoreticalPhysics, email:[email protected] Philosophenweg19, 69120Heidelberg,Germany JackTuszynski email:[email protected] UniversityofAlberta, DepartmentofPhysics,Edmonton,AB, T6G2J1,Canada email:[email protected] Coverfigure:ImagecourtesyoftheScientificComputingandImagingInstitute,UniversityofUtah, (www.sci.utah.edu). LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2006934045 ISSN 1612-3018 ISBN-10 3-540-32663-4 SpringerBerlinHeidelbergNewYork ISBN-13 978-3-540-32663-2 SpringerBerlinHeidelbergNewYork Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.Allrightsarereserved,whetherthewholeorpartofthematerial isconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation,broad- casting,reproductiononmicrofilmorinanyotherway,andstorageindatabanks.Duplicationofthis publicationorpartsthereofispermittedonlyundertheprovisionsoftheGermanCopyrightLawof September9,1965,initscurrentversion,andpermissionforusemustalwaysbeobtainedfromSpringer. ViolationsareliableforprosecutionundertheGermanCopyrightLaw. SpringerisapartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia springer.com ©Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2007 Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,etc.inthispublicationdoesnot imply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevantprotective lawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Typesetting:suppliedbytheauthors Production:LE-TEXJelonek,Schmidt&VöcklerGbR,Leipzig Coverdesign:KünkelLopka,WerbeagenturGmbH,Heidelberg Printedonacid-freepaper SPIN11602958 57/3100/YL-543210 Preface Thisbook offersto adiverse audience the resultsofrecent workby his- torians of physics, philosophers of science, and physicists working on contemporary quantum-mechanical problems. The volume has three themes: new perspectives on the historical development of quantum mechanics, recent progress in the interpretation of quantum mechan- ics, and current topics in quantum mechanics at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The Crossroads of the title can be taken in two ways.First,quantummechanicsitselfcametoasortofcrossroadsinthe 1960s,when it squarely faced the challenges of interpretationthat had been ignored by the founders, and when it began, at an ever-increasing pace, to embrace and exploit a host of new quantum-mechanical phe- nomena.And,second,thisvolume,withitsintersectingaccountsbyhis- torians, philosophers and physicists, offers a crossroads of disciplinary approaches to quantum mechanics. All the authors have written with multiple audiences in mind – readers who may be historians, philoso- phers, scientists, or students of this most strangely beautiful creation that is quantum mechanics. The volume is rich in significant topics. Chapters taking historical perspectives include John Heilbron’s sympathetic but critical treat- ment of Max Planck, Bruce Wheaton’s study of the scientific partner- ship of Louis and Maurice de Broglie, and Georges Lochak’s very per- sonalaccountoftherelationshipbetweenWernerHeisenbergandLouis de Broglie. Michel Bitbol presents a philosophically nuanced study of Erwin Schro¨dinger’s rejection of quantum discontinuity, while Roland Omn`esoffers a criticalreappraisalof John von Neumann’s axiomatiza- tion of quantum mechanics. We reflect on these figures of the founding generations of quantum mechanics as they argue over the reality of particles and quantum jumps, grapple with the question of what parts VI Preface of classical physics must be renounced and what retained, and search for the Absolute while a world crumbles around them. Chapters devoted to current topics in quantum mechanics include WolfgangKetterle onBose–Einsteincondensation,HowardCarmichael on wave–particle correlations, and William Wootters on quantum- mechanicalentanglementasaresourceforteleportationanddense cod- ing. Chapters devoted to interpretive and foundational issues include Abner Shimony on nonlocality,Alan Thorndike on consistenthistories, and Max Schlosshauer and Arthur Fine on decoherence. Some of these chapters are on challenging subjects, but all were written to serve as entr´eesto topics of current research and discussion for readers who are not specialists. The chapters are arranged in the following way. The historical ac- counts open the volume. The chapters taking philosophical points of view follow. And the volume concludes with the chapters devoted to recent physics. But, as is appropriate in a volume designed as a cross- roads at which physics, history and philosophy meet, there is a good deal of interchange and overlap. For example, Michel Bitbol’s philo- sophicalstudyofSchro¨dinger’sattitudestowardparticlesandtheirpur- ported quantum jumps is informed by a deep understanding of the his- toryoftwentieth-centuryphysics.MaximilianSchlosshauerand Arthur Fine’s overview of the role of decoherence in contemporary quantum- mechanical thinking displays not only a fine sense of the history of the subject, but also serves as an excellent introduction to the sci- entific literature. The concluding chapter, by Roland Omn`es, on the historically evolving relation between the world of classical experience and the worldofquantum-mechanical phenomena, weaveshistorywith new physics and tries, as well, to offer a new road in the philosophy of knowledge. A crossroads indeed. Wewouldliketoexpressourthankstotheauthorsfortheirgeneros- ity in responding to requests for revisions and clarifications; to Susan Fredrickson for assistance with the manuscript; to Neva Topolkski for many kinds of help with the project; to James Bernhard for serving as our computer expert; to H. James Clifford, whose early support and enthusiasm helped bring make this volume a reality;and to our editor, Angela Lahee for her encouragement, advice and skill. Seattle, Washington James Evans Oxford, Maryland Alan Thorndike May, 2006 Contents 1 Introduction: Contexts and Challenges for Quantum Mechanics James Evans .............................................. 1 2 Max Planck’s compromises on the way to and from the Absolute J. L. Heilbron ............................................. 21 3 Atomic Waves in Private Practice Bruce R. Wheaton ......................................... 39 4 A Complementary Opposition: Louis de Broglie and Werner Heisenberg Georges Lochak ............................................ 73 5 Schro¨dinger Against Particles and Quantum Jumps Michel Bitbol .............................................. 81 6 Aspects of Nonlocality in Quantum Mechanics Abner Shimony ............................................ 107 7 Decoherence and the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics Maximilian Schlosshauer, Arthur Fine ........................ 125 8 What Are Consistent Histories? Alan Thorndike............................................ 149 9 Bose–Einstein Condensation: Identity Crisis for Indistinguishable Particles Wolfgang Ketterle.......................................... 159 VIII Contents 10 Quantum Fluctuations of Light: A Modern Perspective on Wave/Particle Duality Howard Carmichael ........................................ 183 11 Quantum Entanglement as a Resource for Communication William K. Wootters ....................................... 213 12 The Three Cases of Doctor von Neumann Roland Omn`es............................................. 231 About the Authors .........................................................243 Index.................................................... 245 List of Contributors Michel Bitbol Box 353350 Centre de Recherche en Seattle, WA 98195-3350USA Epist´emologie Appliqu´ee, [email protected] CNRS Ecole Polytechnique J. L. Heilbron 1, rue Descartes Professor of History, Emeritus 75005, Paris, France University of California,Berkeley. michel.bitbol@shs. April House, Shilton, polytechnique.fr Burford OX18 4AB, UK [email protected] H. J. Carmichael Department of Physics Wolfgang Ketterle University of Auckland Research Laboratory for Elec- Private Bag 92109 tronics, Auckland, New Zealand MIT–Harvard Center for Ultra- [email protected] cold Atoms, and Department of Physics James Evans Massachusetts Institute of Department of Physics and Technology, Room 26-243 Program in Science, Technology 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cam- and Society bridge, MA 02139-4307, USA University of Puget Sound [email protected] 1500 North Warner St. Tacoma, WA 98416 USA [email protected] Georges Lochak Fondation Louis de Broglie Arthur Fine 23, rue Marsoulan Department of Philosophy 75012 Paris, France University of Washington [email protected] X List of Contributors Roland Omn`es Alan Thorndike Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics Laboratoiredephysiqueth´eorique University of Puget Sound Universit´e de Paris-Sud 1500 North Warner St. 91405 Orsay, France Tacoma, WA 98416 USA [email protected] [email protected] Maximillian Schlosshauer Department of Physics Bruce Wheaton School of Physical Sciences Technology and Physical Science The University of Queensland History Associates Queensland 4072, Australia 1136 Portland Avenue [email protected] Albany, CA 94706 USA [email protected] Abner Shimony Professor of Philosophy and Physics, Emeritus William K. Wootters Boston University. Department of Physics 438 Whitney Ave. No. 13, WilliamsCollege New Haven, CT 06511 USA Williamstown,MA 01267 USA [email protected] [email protected]
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