Recently some photon models of a Wigner’s friend experiment have led investigators to suggest that objective reality does not exist, and to publish articles with such claims. The public is not equipped to evaluate th...Recently some photon models of a Wigner’s friend experiment have led investigators to suggest that objective reality does not exist, and to publish articles with such claims. The public is not equipped to evaluate the severe limitations of these experiments. The separation of Wigner from the experiment and use of only reversible coherent processes for the friend allow operations that are not possible in ordinary reality according to the latest quantum research. We suggest directly testing the implied claim that objective reality, including incoherent objects with irreversible non-destructive memory, can be held in superposition. We suspect that it will fail, but provide for a graduated approach that may discover something about the conditions for superposition collapse. To this end, we design a thought experiment to model the objective world, investigating under what conditions experimenters in the same world (ensemble member) will be able to record a result and find it does not appear to change. This is not an investigation of hidden variables. To model the objective world, incoherent and irreversible processes must be included. To test for superposition, coherence has to be established. These seem to present a contradiction. The thought experiment suggests new places to look other than size for the origin of objective reality, casts doubt on the Many-Worlds interpretation, and provides a method of testing it.展开更多
文摘Recently some photon models of a Wigner’s friend experiment have led investigators to suggest that objective reality does not exist, and to publish articles with such claims. The public is not equipped to evaluate the severe limitations of these experiments. The separation of Wigner from the experiment and use of only reversible coherent processes for the friend allow operations that are not possible in ordinary reality according to the latest quantum research. We suggest directly testing the implied claim that objective reality, including incoherent objects with irreversible non-destructive memory, can be held in superposition. We suspect that it will fail, but provide for a graduated approach that may discover something about the conditions for superposition collapse. To this end, we design a thought experiment to model the objective world, investigating under what conditions experimenters in the same world (ensemble member) will be able to record a result and find it does not appear to change. This is not an investigation of hidden variables. To model the objective world, incoherent and irreversible processes must be included. To test for superposition, coherence has to be established. These seem to present a contradiction. The thought experiment suggests new places to look other than size for the origin of objective reality, casts doubt on the Many-Worlds interpretation, and provides a method of testing it.
