Protective Measurement and Quantum Reality: Towards a New Understanding of Quantum Mechanics

Description

Protective measurements offer an intriguing method for measuring the wave function of a single quantum system. With contributions from leading physicists and philosophers of physics - including two of the original discoverers of this important method - this book explores the concept of protective measurement, investigating its broad applications and deep implications. Addressing both physical and philosophical aspects, it covers a diverse range of topics, including experimental possibility of protective measurements, connections with the PBR theorem, and the implications of protective measurements for understanding the nature of quantum reality. Including a clear and concise introduction to standard quantum mechanics, conventional measurements, and the fundamentals of protective measurements, this is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers interested in the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics.

Shan Gao is an Associate Professor at the Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on the foundations of quantum mechanics, and the history of modern physics.

'... the book constitutes an impressive collection, with valuable and interesting contributions from physicists as well as philosophers on a topic that is vastly under-investigated, especially within the philosophical community. I find this instructive: physicists, guided by the empiricist idea that something real should also be measurable, found protective measurements to be a game-chanAdditional Endorsements forger in the realism-antirealism debate in the quantum domain, legitimizing the ontological view of the wave function. In contrast, as [author of chapter 7. Peter J.] Lewis pointed out, the majority of the philosophical community was already convinced that the epistemic view was doomed and thus did not need protective measurements. Protective Measurement and Quantum Reality bridges this gap.' Valia Allori, BJPS Review of Books