Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

On the Identification of the Parts of Compound Quantum Objects

  • Published:
Foundations of Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A view of the constitution of quantum objects as reducible, in the sense of being decomposable to elementary particles, is outlined. On this view, parts of composite quantum systems are considered to be identified according to a recently introduced, specifically quantum notion of individuation (Jaeger, Found Phys 40:1396 2010). These parts can typically also be considered particles according to Wigner’s symmetry-based notion. Particles are considered elementary when they satisfy a condition of elementarity, newly introduced here, that improves on that provided by Newton and Wigner. In any given instance, the compound character of a physical object can be verified in principle by decomposition, ultimately to a set of such elementary parts, through appropriate precise quantum measurements during experimentation consistently with this principle of individuation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Falkenburg, B.: Particle Metaphysics. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Wigner, E.P.: On unitary representations of the inhomogeneous Lorentz group. Ann. Math. 40, 149 (1939)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. Jaeger, G.: Quantum Objects. Springer, Berlin (2014)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  4. Bell, J.S.: On the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox. Physics 1, 195 (1964)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Clauser, J.F., Horne, M., Shimony, A., Holt, R.A.: Proposed experiments to test local hidden-variable theories. Phys. Rev. Lett. 23, 880 (1973)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Einstein, A.: Physics, philosophy, and scientific progress, Speech to the International Congress of Surgeons in Cleveland. Ohio; reprinted as Phys. Today 58(6), 46 (2012)

  7. Stachel, J.: Einstein and the quantum: Fifty years of struggle. In: Colodny, R.G. (ed.) From Quarks to Quasars, p. 349. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Reichenbach, H.: Philosophic Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. University of California Press, Berkeley (1944)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Feynman, R.P.: QED. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Miller, A.J., Nam, S.W., Martinis, J.M., Sergienko, A.V.: Demonstration of low-noise near-infrared photon counter with multiphoton discrimination. Appl. Phys. Lett. 83, 791 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Clifton, R.: The subtleties of entanglement and its role in quantum information theory. Phil. Sci. 69, S150 (2002)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. Jaeger, G.: Potentiality and causation. AIP Conf. Proc. 1424, 387 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Newton, T.D., Wigner, E.: Localized states for elementary systems. Rev. Mod. Phys. 21, 400 (1949)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  14. Jaeger, G.: What in the (quantum) world is macroscopic? Am. J. Phys. (in press)

  15. Wigner., E. P.: The subject of our discussions. In: Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. Proceedings of the International School of Physics “Enrico Fermi”, p. 7. Academic Press, London (1971)

  16. Cushing, J.T.: Quantum Mechanics: Historical Contingency and the Copenhagen Hegemony. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago (1994)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  17. Birkhoff, G., von Neumann, J.: The logic of quantum mechanics. Ann. Math. 37, 823 (1936)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Heisenberg, W.: Physics and Philosophy. Harper and Row, New York (1958)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Busch, P., Jaeger, G.: Unsharp quantum reality. Found. Phys. 40, 1341 (2010)

    Article  ADS  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  20. Suppes, P.: A Probabilistic Theory of Causality. North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam (1970)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Einstein, A., Podolsky, B., Rosen, N.: Can quantum-mechanical description of physical reality be considered complete? Phys. Rev. 47, 777 (1935)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  22. Jaeger, G.: Individuation in quantum mechanics and space-time. Found. Phys. 40, 1396 (2010)

    Article  ADS  MATH  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  23. Landau, L.: Das dämpfungsproblem in der wellenmechanik. Z. Phys. 45, 430 (1927)

    Article  ADS  MATH  Google Scholar 

  24. Maudlin, T.: Part and whole in quantum mechanics. In: Castellani, E. (ed.) Interpreting Bodies, Ch. 3. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1998)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the DARPA QUINESS program through U.S. Army Research Office Award No. W31P4Q-12-1-0015. I would also like to thank Brigitte Falkenburg for helpful comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Quantum Communication and Measurement Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Division of Natural Science and Mathematics, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Gregg Jaeger

Authors
  1. Gregg Jaeger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gregg Jaeger.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jaeger, G. On the Identification of the Parts of Compound Quantum Objects. Found Phys 44, 709–724 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-014-9795-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-014-9795-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation