About this Research Topic
Quantum Mechanics (QM) constitutes a most remarkable achievement in the quest to explain the workings of Nature, however, its precise and unique physical interpretation is still to be found. The machinery of QM is at work everywhere and at any time; quantum resources are being exploited, new applications emerge, and yet many a physicist wonders how and why QM works - even Feynman stated that nobody understands QM.
QM stands apart from other physical theories in as much as its elegant and powerful mathematical formalism conceals the lack of a unique, complete and coherent conceptual frame in which to accommodate, interpret and relate the physical elements that should be put into correspondence with the various mathematical objects. Excessive mathematization, blurred physics, and the abandonment of principles on which the remainder of physics rests - such as realism, determinism, locality, objectivity or descriptiveness - have been a discomforting signature in the legacy of QM as we know it.
The aim of this Research Topic is to promote discussions of the physics of QM as seen from different perspectives. We extend an invitation to take a closer look beyond the formal apparatus, and point towards new paths for a more physical and realist reframing of QM. Contributions are welcome that further this reframing by presenting, for instance, endeavors to identify underlying physical laws and causal connections, proposing a possible “subquantum” theoretical description, putting forward a critical revision of the rules of correspondence between theory and observation, or offering logical arguments or concrete models that question the impossibility theorems.
QM stands apart from other physical theories in as much as its elegant and powerful mathematical formalism conceals the lack of a unique, complete and coherent conceptual frame in which to accommodate, interpret and relate the physical elements that should be put into correspondence with the various mathematical objects. Excessive mathematization, blurred physics, and the abandonment of principles on which the remainder of physics rests - such as realism, determinism, locality, objectivity or descriptiveness - have been a discomforting signature in the legacy of QM as we know it.
The aim of this Research Topic is to promote discussions of the physics of QM as seen from different perspectives. We extend an invitation to take a closer look beyond the formal apparatus, and point towards new paths for a more physical and realist reframing of QM. Contributions are welcome that further this reframing by presenting, for instance, endeavors to identify underlying physical laws and causal connections, proposing a possible “subquantum” theoretical description, putting forward a critical revision of the rules of correspondence between theory and observation, or offering logical arguments or concrete models that question the impossibility theorems.
Keywords: Quantum mechanics, Foundations, Quantum observables, No-go theorems, Entanglement
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