Separation of conditions as a prerequisite for quantum theory

Journal Article · Mon Apr 15 04:00:00 EDT 2019 · Annals of Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.AOP.2019.01.012· OSTI ID:22848485

De Raedt, Hans ^[1]; Katsnelson, Mikhail I. ^[2]; Willsch, Dennis ^[3]; Michielsen, Kristel ^[3]

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1. Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, NL-9747AG, Groningen (Netherlands)
2. Radboud University, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Heyendaalseweg 135, NL-6525AJ, Nijmegen (Netherlands)
3. Institute for Advanced Simulation, Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425 Jülich (Germany)

We introduce the notion of “separation of conditions” meaning that a description of statistical data obtained from experiments, performed under a set of different conditions, allows for a decomposition such that each partial description depends on mutually exclusive subsets of these conditions. Descriptions that allow a separation of conditions are shown to entail the basic mathematical framework of quantum theory. The Stern–Gerlach and the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bohm experiment with three, respectively nine possible outcomes are used to illustrate how the separation of conditions can be used to construct their quantum theoretical descriptions. It is shown that the mathematical structure of separated descriptions implies that, under certain restrictions, the time evolution of the data can be described by the von Neumann/Schrödinger equation.

• OSTI ID: 22848485
• Journal Information: Annals of Physics, Journal Name: Annals of Physics Vol. 403; ISSN 0003-4916; ISSN APNYA6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
EQUATIONS
QUANTUM MECHANICS
SIMULATION
STATISTICAL MECHANICS
STERN-GERLACH EXPERIMENT