Testing quantum theory with thought experiments

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2106.05314v1
• Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2021 18:08:23 GMT
• Title: Testing quantum theory with thought experiments
• Authors: Nuriya Nurgalieva, Renato Renner
• Abstract summary: How should one model systems that include agents who are themselves using quantum theory? We give a state-of-the-art overview on quantum thought experiments involving observers.
• Score: 4.847980206213335
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: Quantum mechanics is one of our most successful physical theories; its predictions agree with experimental observations to an extremely high accuracy. However, the bare formalism of quantum theory does not provide straightforward answers to seemingly simple questions: for example, how should one model systems that include agents who are themselves using quantum theory? These foundational questions may be investigated with a theorist's tool -- the thought experiment. Its purpose is to turn debates about the interpretation of quantum theory into actual physics questions. In this article, we give a state-of-the-art overview on quantum thought experiments involving observers, from the basic Wigner's friend to the recent Frauchiger-Renner setup, clarifying their interpretational significance and responding to objections and criticism on the way.

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