Entanglement, Information, and the Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (eBook)

After graduating in mathematics, philosophy, and physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Gregg Jaeger undertook his doctoral work in physics at Boston University under Abner Shimony, with whom he discovered new complementarity relations in quantum interferometry. He currently holds a professorship at Boston University, where he has offered courses in the mathematics, natural science, and philosophy departments. His recent research has focused on decoherence, entanglement theory, quantum computing, and quantum cryptography.

Preface 7
Acknowledgments 11
Contents 12
1 Superposition, Entanglement, and Limits of Local Causality 14
Quantum Interference 15
Quantum Indeterminacy and Uncertainty 19
Quantum States and Entanglement 25
Quantum Entanglement Measures 37
Surprising Implications of Entanglement 40
The EPR Program and Absence of Local Causality 45
Problems with Hidden-Variables Models 50
Bell's Theorem and Independence Conditions 53
Conditions Contradicted by Quantum Mechanics 57
Operations, Communication, and Entanglement 60
2 Quantum Measurement, Probability, and Logic 67
Logic and Mechanics 73
Probability and Quantum Mechanics 80
The Completeness of Quantum Mechanics 83
Problems with Measurement in Quantum Mechanics 86
Elements of Quantum Measurement Theory 90
Advances in Quantum Measurement Theory 98
Schrödinger's Cat and Wigner's Friend 101
3 Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics 107
Interpretation and Metaphysics 116
The Basic Interpretation 129
The Copenhagen Interpretation 136
Orthodoxy and Explanation in Quantum Physics 148
The Collapse-Free Approach 151
The Naive Interpretation 177
The Radical Bayesian Interpretation 182
The Process interpretation 191
Interpretational Underdetermination 197
4 Information and Quantum Mechanics 201
The Theory of Information 206
The Quantum Theory of Information 212
Entropy in Quantum Measurement Theory 221
Quantum Communication and Its Limitations 223
Quantum Information Processing and Speedup 227
Protocols and the Nature of Quantum Information 236
Informational Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics 244
Entanglement `Thermodynamics' 257
Information and Entanglement 260
The Great Arc 267
A Appendix 270
Mathematical Elements 270
The Standard Postulates 273
The Dirac Notation 274
The Classification of Entangled States 275
Elements of Traditional and Quantum Logic 278
C*-Algebras 280
References 281
Index 304