Weekly Papers on Quantum Foundations (28)

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physics.hist-ph updates on arXiv.org / 3d

arXiv:2507.04951v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The term emergence is increasingly used across scientific disciplines to describe phenomena that arise from interactions among a system’s components but cannot be readily inferred by examining those components in isolation. While often invoked to explain higher-level behaviors, such as flocking, synchronization, or collective intelligence, the term

On the independence problem of Newton’s first law

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physics.hist-ph updates on arXiv.org / 3d

arXiv:2507.04282v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Newton’s laws of motion pose an apparent problem, sometimes referred to as “the independence problem”: the first law seems to be a simple consequence of the second law, hence it is unclear why it is included as a separate law. Many different possible answers to this question appear in the literature. The main contribution of this paper is to offer tw

Experiment and the Pursuit of Ugly Models

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physics.hist-ph updates on arXiv.org / 3d

arXiv:2507.03565v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Scientists do not merely choose to accept fully formed theories, they also have to decide which models to work on before they are fully developed and tested. Since decisive empirical evidence in favour of a model will not yet have been gathered, other criteria must play determining roles. I examine the case of modern high-energy physics where the exp

Phenomenological quantum mechanics II: deducing the formalism from experimental observations

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physics.hist-ph updates on arXiv.org / 2d

arXiv:2507.04812v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We propose an exercise in which one attempts to deduce the formalism of quantum mechanics solely from phenomenological observations. The only assumed inputs are the multi-time probability distributions estimated from the results of sequential measurements of quantum observables; no presuppositions about the underlying mathematical structure

Phenomenological quantum mechanics I: phenomenology of quantum observables

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physics.hist-ph updates on arXiv.org / 2d

arXiv:2410.14410v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We propose an exercise in which one attempts to deduce the formalism of quantum mechanics solely from phenomenological observations. The only assumed inputs are obtained through sequential probing of quantum systems; no presuppositions about the underlying mathematical structures are permitted. We demonstrate that it is indeed possible to d

The Creation of Particles in an Expanding Universe

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physics.hist-ph updates on arXiv.org / 2d

arXiv:2507.05372v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: This document is the Ph.D. thesis of Leonard Parker, submitted to Harvard University in 1966. Over the decades, several generations of physicists have been introduced to the concept of particle creation by gravitational fields, a phenomenon that has become a cornerstone in exploring the interplay between gravitation and quantum theory. Yet, the fou

Where Photons Have Been: Nowhere Without All Components of Their Wavefunctions

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physics.hist-ph updates on arXiv.org / 1d

arXiv:2507.06362v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: A nested interferometer experiment by Danan et al (2013) is discussed and some ontological implications explored, primarily in the context of time-symmetric interpretations of quantum theory. It is pointed out that photons are supported by all components of their wavefunctions, not selectively truncated “first order” portions of them, and that figu

Wave Mechanics and C-equivalence

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physics.hist-ph updates on arXiv.org / 1d

arXiv:2507.07069v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We establish that de Broglie’s wave, as it is introduced in his Thesis, is not a wave on a given space, but on the contrary itself determines a system in which Special Relativity is locally valid. This local system is a physical object, that defines its own units of length and time. C-equivalence provides a natural framework both for its mathematical

The Aharonov-Casher phase is geometrical and not topological

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quant-ph updates on arXiv.org / 17h

arXiv:2411.04589v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: It is demonstrated that the Aharonov-Casher (AC) phase is a geometric phase that, in general, depends on the details of the closed path taken by a particle with a magnetic moment that is subject to an electric field. Consequently, it is not a topological phase. The proof of this statement is obtained by developing a counterexample that elucidates

Towards Nonlinear Quantum Thermodynamics

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quant-ph updates on arXiv.org / 17h

arXiv:2507.07537v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We have recently put forth several schemes of unconventional, nonlinearly-enabled thermodynamic (TD) devices that can operate in either the classical or the quantum domain by transforming thermal-state input in multiple uncorrelated modes into non-gaussian state output in selected modes: a four-mode Kerr-nonlinear interferometer that acts as a heat e

Foundations of General Relativity: From Einstein to Black Holes (Second corrected edition)

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PhilSci-Archive: No conditions. Results … / 3d

Landsman, Klaas (2022) . Radboud University Press, Nijmegen. ISBN 9789083178929

To What Physics Corresponds

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PhilSci-Archive: No conditions. Results … / 3d

Saunders, Simon (1993) . Correspondence, Invariance, and Heuristics. pp. 295-326.

Towards a consistent Semiclassical Theory of Gravity

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