The Principles of Quantum Theory, From Planck's Quanta to the Higgs Boson
The Principles of Quantum Theory, From Planck's Quanta to the Higgs Boson

Author: Arkady Plotnitsky

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-09-26

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 3319320688

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The book considers foundational thinking in quantum theory, focusing on the role the fundamental principles and principle thinking there, including thinking that leads to the invention of new principles, which is, the book contends, one of the ultimate achievements of theoretical thinking in physics and beyond. The focus on principles, prominent during the rise and in the immediate aftermath of quantum theory, has been uncommon in more recent discussions and debates concerning it. The book argues, however, that exploring the fundamental principles and principle thinking is exceptionally helpful in addressing the key issues at stake in quantum foundations and the seemingly interminable debates concerning them. Principle thinking led to major breakthroughs throughout the history of quantum theory, beginning with the old quantum theory and quantum mechanics, the first definitive quantum theory, which it remains within its proper (nonrelativistic) scope. It has, the book also argues, been equally important in quantum field theory, which has been the frontier of quantum theory for quite a while now, and more recently, in quantum information theory, where principle thinking was given new prominence. The approach allows the book to develop a new understanding of both the history and philosophy of quantum theory, from Planck’s quantum to the Higgs boson, and beyond, and of the thinking the key founding figures, such as Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and Dirac, as well as some among more recent theorists. The book also extensively considers the nature of quantum probability, and contains a new interpretation of quantum mechanics, “the statistical Copenhagen interpretation.” Overall, the book’s argument is guided by what Heisenberg called “the spirit of Copenhagen,” which is defined by three great divorces from the preceding foundational thinking in physics—reality from realism, probability from causality, and locality from relativity—and defined the fundamental principles of quantum theory accordingly.

Quantum Probability and Randomness
Quantum Probability and Randomness

Author: Andrei Khrennikov

Publisher: MDPI

Published: 2019-04-18

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 3038977144

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The last few years have been characterized by a tremendous development of quantum information and probability and their applications, including quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum random generators. In spite of the successful development of quantum technology, its foundational basis is still not concrete and contains a few sandy and shaky slices. Quantum random generators are one of the most promising outputs of the recent quantum information revolution. Therefore, it is very important to reconsider the foundational basis of this project, starting with the notion of irreducible quantum randomness. Quantum probabilities present a powerful tool to model uncertainty. Interpretations of quantum probability and foundational meaning of its basic tools, starting with the Born rule, are among the topics which will be covered by this issue. Recently, quantum probability has started to play an important role in a few areas of research outside quantum physics—in particular, quantum probabilistic treatment of problems of theory of decision making under uncertainty. Such studies are also among the topics of this issue.

Galileo Unbound
Galileo Unbound

Author: David D. Nolte

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-07-12

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0192528505

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Galileo Unbound traces the journey that brought us from Galileo's law of free fall to today's geneticists measuring evolutionary drift, entangled quantum particles moving among many worlds, and our lives as trajectories traversing a health space with thousands of dimensions. Remarkably, common themes persist that predict the evolution of species as readily as the orbits of planets or the collapse of stars into black holes. This book tells the history of spaces of expanding dimension and increasing abstraction and how they continue today to give new insight into the physics of complex systems. Galileo published the first modern law of motion, the Law of Fall, that was ideal and simple, laying the foundation upon which Newton built the first theory of dynamics. Early in the twentieth century, geometry became the cause of motion rather than the result when Einstein envisioned the fabric of space-time warped by mass and energy, forcing light rays to bend past the Sun. Possibly more radical was Feynman's dilemma of quantum particles taking all paths at once — setting the stage for the modern fields of quantum field theory and quantum computing. Yet as concepts of motion have evolved, one thing has remained constant, the need to track ever more complex changes and to capture their essence, to find patterns in the chaos as we try to predict and control our world.

Quanta and Mind
Quanta and Mind

Author: J. Acacio de Barros

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2019-09-19

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 3030219089

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This edited volume examines aspects of the mind/consciousness that are relevant to the interpretations of quantum mechanics. In it, an international group of contributors focus on the possible connections between quantum mechanics and consciousness. They look at how consciousness can help us with quantum mechanics as well as how quantum mechanics can contribute to our understanding of consciousness. For example, what do different interpretations aimed at solving the measurement problem in quantum mechanics tell us about the nature of consciousness, such as von Neumann's interpretation? Each interpretation has, associated to it, a corresponding metaphysical framework that helps us think about possible “models” of consciousness. Alternatively, what does the nature of consciousness tell us about the role of the observer and time reversibility in the measurement process? The book features 20 papers on contemporary approaches to quanta and mind. It brings together the work of scholars from different disciplines with diverse views on the connections between quanta and mind, ranging from those who are supportive of a link between consciousness and quantum physics to those who are very skeptical of such link. Coverage includes such topics as free will in a quantum world, contextuality and causality, mind and matter interaction, quantum panpsychism, the quantum and quantum-like brain, and the role of time in brain-mind dynamics.

From Electrons to Elephants and Elections
From Electrons to Elephants and Elections

Author: Shyam Wuppuluri

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-04-08

Total Pages: 886

ISBN-13: 3030921921

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This highly interdisciplinary book, covering more than six fields, from philosophy and sciences all the way up to the humanities and with contributions from eminent authors, addresses the interplay between content and context, reductionism and holism and their meeting point: the notion of emergence. Much of today’s science is reductionist (bottom-up); in other words, behaviour on one level is explained by reducing it to components on a lower level. Chemistry is reduced to atoms, ecosystems are explained in terms of DNA and proteins, etc. This approach fails quickly since we can’t cannot extrapolate to the properties of atoms solely from Schrödinger's equation, nor figure out protein folding from an amino acid sequence or obtain the phenotype of an organism from its genotype. An alternative approach to this is holism (top-down). Consider an ecosystem or an organism as a whole: seek patterns on the same scale. Model a galaxy not as 400 billion-point masses (stars) but as an object in its own right with its own properties (spiral, elliptic). Or a hurricane as a structured form of moist air and water vapour. Reductionism is largely about content, whereas holistic models are more attuned to context. Reductionism (content) and holism (context) are not opposing philosophies — in fact, they work best in tandem. Join us on a journey to understand the multifaceted dialectic concerning this duo and how they shape the foundations of sciences and humanities, our thoughts and, the very nature of reality itself.

Amazing Grace of Quantum Physics
Amazing Grace of Quantum Physics

Author: Dillard W. Faries

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2017-11-07

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1532614225

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Science and faith have had a long intertwined history. The relationship has run the gamut from a total disconnect to an adversarial battleground where proponents of each claim total victory. However, if God created the physical world and remains active in the physical world, we cannot ignore the interaction nor can we assume or expect a world of conflict. While nineteenth-century physics brought classical physics--which quite reasonably divorced God and nature--to a culmination, twentieth-century physics, especially quantum physics, has opened a new realm of possible interactions. Even though one can reasonably say that no one understands quantum physics, the fruits of the discipline overflow the cornucopia. People of faith can share the feast; and people of science are welcome at the table of faith.

The Quantum-Like Revolution
The Quantum-Like Revolution

Author: Arkady Plotnitsky

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-06-27

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 3031129865

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Over the last ten years, elements of the formalism of quantum mechanics have been successfully applied beyond physics in areas such as psychology (especially cognition), economics and finance (especially in the formalization of so-called ‘decision making’), political science, and molecular biology. An important stream of work along these lines, commonly under the heading of quantum-like modeling, has been published in well regarded scientific journals, and major publishers have devoted entire books to the topic. This Festschrift honors a key figure in this field of research: Andrei Khrennikov, who made momentous contributions to it and to quantum foundations themselves. While honoring these contributions, and in order to do so, this Festschrift orients its reader toward the future rather than focusing on the past: it addresses future challenges and establishes the way forward in both domains, quantum-like modeling and quantum foundations. A while ago, in response to the developments of using the quantum formalism outside of quantum mechanics, the eminent quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger said, ‘Why should it be precisely the quantum mechanics formalism? Maybe its generalization would be more adequate...’ This volume responds to this statement by both showing the reasons for the continuing importance of quantum formalism and yet also considering pathways to such generalizations. Khrennikov’s work has been indispensable in establishing the great promise of quantum and quantum-like thinking in shaping the future of scientific research across the disciplines.

Introduction to Quantum Mechanics 2
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics 2

Author: Ibrahima Sakho

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2020-01-13

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 1119694949

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Quantum mechanics is the foundation of modern technology, due to its innumerable applications in physics, chemistry and even biology. This second volume studies Schrödingers equation and its applications in the study of wells, steps and potential barriers. It examines the properties of orthonormal bases in the space of square-summable wave functions and Dirac notations in the space of states. This book has a special focus on the notions of the linear operators, the Hermitian operators, observables, Hermitian conjugation, commutators and the representation of kets, bras and operators in the space of states. The eigenvalue equation, the characteristic equation and the evolution equation of the mean value of an observable are introduced. The book goes on to investigate the study of conservative systems through the time evolution operator and Ehrenfests theorem. Finally, this second volume is completed by the introduction of the notions of quantum wire, quantum wells of semiconductor materials and quantum dots in the appendices.

Introduction to Quantum Mechanics 1
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics 1

Author: Ibrahima Sakho

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1786304872

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The conception of lasers and optoelectronic devices such as solar cells have been made possible, thanks to the modern day mastery of processes that harness the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter. This first volume is dedicated to thermal radiation and experimental facts that reveal the quantification of matter. The study of black body radiation allows the introduction of fundamental precepts such as Plancks law and the energy-related qualities that characterize radiation. The properties of light and wave–particle duality are also examined, based on the interpretation of light interferences, the photoelectric effect and the Compton effect. This book goes on to investigate the hydrogen atomic emission spectrum and how it dovetails into our understanding of quantum numbers to describe the energy, angular momentum, magnetic moment and spin of an electron. A look at the spectroscopic notation of the states explains the different wavelengths measured from the splitting of spectral lines. Finally, this first volume is completed by the study of de Broglies wave theory and Heisenbergs uncertainty principle, which facilitated the advancement of quantum mechanics.

Reality Without Realism
Reality Without Realism

Author: Arkady Plotnitsky

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-01-01

Total Pages: 358

ISBN-13: 3030845788

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This book presents quantum theory as a theory based on new relationships among matter, thought, and experimental technology, as against those previously found in physics, relationships that also redefine those between mathematics and physics in quantum theory. The argument of the book is based on its title concept, reality without realism (RWR), and in the corresponding view, the RWR view, of quantum theory. The book considers, from this perspective, the thinking of Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and Dirac, with the aim of bringing together the philosophy and history of quantum theory. With quantum theory, the book argues, the architecture of thought in theoretical physics was radically changed by the irreducible role of experimental technology in the constitution of physical phenomena, accordingly, no longer defined independently by matter alone, as they were in classical physics or relativity. Or so it appeared. For, quantum theory, the book further argues, made us realize that experimental technology, beginning with that of our bodies, irreducibly shapes all physical phenomena, and thus makes us rethink the relationships among matter, thought, and technology in all of physics.