At 11:42 15/04/04 +0200, Saibal Mitra wrote:
>http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0404045
>
>
>Quantum mechanics without quantum logic
>Authors: D.A. Slavnov
>Comments: 24 pages, no figures, Latex
>
>We describe a scheme of quantum mechanics in which the Hilbert space and
>linear operators are only secondary structures of the theory. As primary
>structures we consider observables, elements of noncommutative algebra,
>and the physical states, the nonlinear functionals on this algebra, which
>associate with results of single measurement. We show that in such scheme
>the mathematical apparatus of the standard quantum mechanics does not
>contradict a hypothesis on existence of an objective local reality, a
>principle of a causality and Kolmogorovian probability theory.
To talk frankly it seems to me that Slavnov is a little bit unfair
about Quantum Logic (QL), confusing it with some Hilbert Space idolatry.
It looks still more unfair when you remember that, in the process of
writing the QL founding 1936 paper (ref in my thesis), von Neumann
wrote to Birkhoff and said:
"I would like to make a confession which may seem immoral: I do not
believe absolutely in Hilbert space any more." (quoted at length in the
formidable book by Miklos Redei : Quantum Logic in Algebraic
Approach , Kluwer, 1998).
And so we can say that QL has been literally born from a first skeptical
move with respect to the Hilbert space worship. And as far as I
understand Slavnov his move seems similar to von Neumann's one.
Which I think is not a bad move at all. The reason why von Neumann
has abandonned the "obvious" orthomodular lattice of the closed linear
subspaces of an (infinite dimensional) Hilbert space was that he
wanted to keep *modularity* which is closer to the distributivity (of
the 'and' and the 'or') axioms of a Boolean Algebra, ... so close that
it makes it possible to define the unique
probabilities from the "probability one" logic, that is from Quantum
Logic (there would be some universal density operator).
I do believe this has no bearing at all with any magical trick capable
of making vanishing the other relative worlds, histories, minds,
maximal consistent extensions, possibilities ... That seems to me
the most preposterous part of Slavnov paper.
In 1939 von Neumann still invokes a "magical"
role of consciousness in his singling out a "collapsed" reality.
That Quantum logic *can* be a formidable tools is exemplified in
my thesis where I show that if we are turing-emulable then
physics (as a science of correct prediction) is necessarily
redefined as a measure on all the "computational histories"
going through our relatively actual states.
The "all" is managed by explicit appeal to Church thesis.
And then, translating this in the language of a sound
universal (lobian) machine I extract the logic of the
probability one (from and on all the maximal consistent
extensions) and got an (arithmetical) quantum logic (AQL*)
Is it modular, orthomodular? Open problems!
Of course modularity would help for the sequel (the derivation
of physics from arithmetics/machine 'psychology'). You can
look at the last pages of the following document for the
precise definition of the arithmetical quantum logic which I
call AQL* now but is named QuelQL* in the following document:
http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/bxlthesis/Volume1CC/4Recapitulation.pdf
Bruno
http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/
Received on Sat Apr 17 2004 - 11:26:34 PDT