Foundations of Physics最新文献

Contemporary perspectivism is viewed as a framework of scientific inquiry concerning the origin, generation and systematization of scientific knowledge of nature by focusing on the conditions under which such knowledge may arise in perspectivist terms and investigating the essential ramifications of these conditions. To this end, we develop the conceptual, methodological and semantic framework of contemporary perspectivism according to the norms of the proposed endo-theoretic approach. Implementation of the preceding three-fold scheme in quantum mechanics implies that the global structure of a quantum algebra of events can be consistently comprehended through a multilevel structure of locally variable Boolean perspectives, interconnected in a category-theoretic environment, yielding jointly all the information encoded in the former. In this respect, the proposed approach validates the perspectivist/contextual nature of quantum mechanics at a fundamental level of discourse. Furthermore, due to its general character, it may acquire the form of a theoretical pattern of scientific inquiry in the natural sciences, especially when dealing with complex trans-perspectival phenomena, the analysis of which requires the use of information resulting from more than one perspective. Finally, in the appendix, we provide a concise comparative assessment between our perspectivist framework of quantum theory and Rovelli’s relational interpretation of quantum mechanics.

In this investigation, we attempt to establish a mathematical formulation for teleological explanation, based on path integral interference and information modulation mechanisms. A central hypothesis proposed is the mechanism-intent duality, which posits that a complete description of a physical system must involve both its structural mechanism and intrinsic purpose. Using the interference mechanism of the probability amplitude path integral as the mathematical foundation, the selection of actual paths is viewed as the result of information modulation by both purpose and natural laws. From the perspective of phase modulation, purpose and natural law are demonstrably equivalent in effect, and natural laws are interpreted as various objectively existing combinatorial forms of intrinsic purposes. Finally, we propose and analyze a thought experiment called the “drop arrow”, and examine classical cases such as free particle motion and the harmonic oscillator. This theoretical framework attempts to offer a possible approach to unifying matter, consciousness, and natural law.

We hypothesize that the binding interactions among the components of bound systems and the background fields, sometimes known as virtual particle exchange, affect the state of the systems as do typical scattering interactions. Then with the assumption that the interior environment of unstable particles is disordered, we derive in the limit of continuous binding both an exactly exponential non-decay probability and Fermi’s Golden Rule for the decay rates. The result suggests resolutions to several long-standing theoretical challenges associated with exponential decay in quantum mechanics, without appealing directly to non-Hermitian, approximate Hamiltonians or complex energies. It also contributes to a conceptual understanding of the apparent continuum between controlled interactions that induce deviations from exponential decay, such as those in the Quantum Zeno Effect, and the uncontrolled internal dynamics of excited atoms and nuclei, which exhibit no such deviations. Finally, we examine how the binding interactions responsible for the general exponential character of decay for bound systems differ from the couplings with decay products that control decay rates, providing insight into challenges in quantum computing and information processing.

We use the framework of Empirical Models (EM) and Hidden Variables Models (HVM) to analyze the locality and stochasticity properties of relativistic quantum theories, such as Quantum Field Theory (QFT). First, we present the standard definition of properties such as determinism, no signaling, locality, and contextuality for HVM and for EM and their relations. Then, we show that if no other conditions are added, there are only two types of EM: An EM is either classical, by which we mean that it is strongly deterministic, local, and non-contextual; Or else an EM is non-classical, in which case it is weakly deterministic, non-local and contextual. Consequently, we define criteria for an HVM to be Lorentz invariant and prove that Lorentz invariance implies parameter independence. As a result, we show that a Lorentz invariant and contextual model (e.g., relativistic quantum theory) must be genuinely stochastic i.e., it cannot have a deterministic (strong or weak) HVM. This proof is an improved version of a theorem we proved previously, and it has a wider scope. Finally, we discuss Bell’s definition of locality and show that it is equivalent to non-contextuality. We argue that Bell’s justification for this definition tacitly assumes non-contextuality (which is equivalent to strong determinism). We propose an alternative definition of locality for contextual and relativistic theories that accounts for correlations that result from common history and renders QFT a local theory.

We propose two quantum experiments – modified Bell tests – that could detect contextual hidden variables underlying quantum mechanics. The experiments are inspired by hydrodynamic pilot-wave systems that mimic a wide range of quantum effects and exhibit a classical analog of contextuality. To justify the experiments, we show that contextual hidden variables are inevitable and ‘physics as usual’ if a unification between quantum mechanics and general relativity is possible. Accordingly, contextual theories can bypass Bell’s theorem in a way that is both local and non-conspiratorial. We end with a note on the relevance of exploratory experiments in the foundations of quantum physics.

We demonstrate that the internal logical structure of a quantum circuit can leave a distinct thermodynamic signature under progressive decoherence. By comparing deep, conditionally branching circuits with shallow, uniform counterparts—while controlling for overall halting probability and physical resources—we show that branching architectures induce greater entropy flow into the environment. This effect is captured by a logical depth factor (L_d), which quantifies entropy accumulation during environmental interactions. We validate our framework through detailed analysis of two 4-branch quantum circuits, demonstrating greater entropy production with (L_d approx 1.615) for conditional versus uniform architectures. An ancilla-based experimental protocol using controlled-phase gates provides a concrete pathway for detecting these thermodynamic signatures on current quantum platforms. Our results establish logical depth as a physically measurable quantity with implications for circuit design, compilation strategies, and verification protocols.

Scientific realism is the philosophical stance that science tracks truth, in particular in its depiction of the world’s ontology. Ontologically, this involves a commitment to the existence of entities posited by our best scientific theories; metaontologically, it includes the claim that the theoretical framework itself is true. In this article, we examine wave function realism as a case study within this broader methodological debate. Wave function realism holds that the wave function, as described by quantum mechanics, corresponds to a real physical entity. We focus on a recent formulation of this view that commits to the ontology of the wave function while deliberately avoiding the metaontological question of the framework’s truth. Instead, the view is defended on pragmatic, non-truth-conductive grounds. This, we argue, raises tensions for the purported realism of wave function realism and its compatibility with scientific realism more broadly.

The so-called Geometric Trinity of Gravity includes General Relativity (GR), based on spacetime curvature; the Teleparallel Equivalent of GR (TEGR), which relies on spacetime torsion; and the Symmetric Teleparallel Equivalent of GR (STEGR), grounded in nonmetricity. Recent studies demonstrate that GR, TEGR, and STEGR are dynamically equivalent, raising questions about the fundamental structure of spacetime, the under-determination of these theories, and whether empirical distinctions among them are possible. The aim of this work is to show that they are equivalent in many features but not exactly in everything. In particular, their relationship with the Equivalence Principle (EP) is different. The EP is a deeply theory-laden assumption, which is assumed as fundamental in constructing GR, with significant implications for our understanding of spacetime. However, it introduces unresolved conceptual issues, including its impact on the nature of the metric and connection, its meaning at the quantum level, tensions with other fundamental interactions and new physics, and its role in dark matter and dark energy problems. In contrast, TEGR and STEGR recover the EP, in particular in its strong formulation, but do not rely on it as a foundational principle. The fact that GR, TEGR, and STEGR are equivalent in non-trivial predictions, but the EP is not necessary for TEGR and STEGR, suggests that it may not be a fundamental feature but an emergent one, potentially marking differences in the empirical content of the three theories. Thus, the developments within the Geometric Trinity framework challenge traditional assumptions about spacetime and may help to better understand some of the unresolved foundational difficulties related to the EP.

There are two main styles of interpreting the quantum state: either focusing on the fundamentality of the quantum state (a state or wavefunction realist view), or on how projection operators represent observable properties (an observable-first approach). Rather than being incompatible, I argue that these correspond to taking a 3rd person and 1st person perspective respectively. I further contend that the 1st person perspective - and the observable-first approach that goes with it - is better suited to explain measurement, based on the way that the metrology literature characterises measurement through the quantifiable properties of a system. Finally, I show how the 1st person, observable-first approach can emerge in the world through the process of decoherence, hence showing the compatibility of the two approaches and resolving the need to choose absolutely between them.

Sebens (2025) has proposed a semiclassical “precursor” to quantum electrodynamics (QED) in which the electron’s anomalous magnetic moment arises from the self-interaction of an extended charge distribution governed by the Dirac equation. The calculation reproduces Schwinger’s leading-order value only for suitably tuned, spatially extended wave-packets, and thus yields a state-dependent magnetic moment. This paper offers a systematic critique of that result. After reviewing the standard QED derivation—where the anomaly is fixed by gauge symmetry, the Ward–Takahashi identity, and renormalization—we show that the semiclassical model lacks the structural resources that guarantee universality. Drawing on a general distinction between phenomenological dependence and theoretical fundamentality, we argue that Sebens’s construction attains intuitive, mechanical appeal at the cost of explanatory depth: its high phenomenologicality cannot compensate for its low fundamentality. What Sebens treats as a puzzle for QED—how the theory “nails down” a single value of (g-2)—is instead a symptom of the precursor’s incompleteness. The episode illustrates a broader methodological point: in modern physics, structural principles, rather than classical pictures, underwrite genuine explanation.