Quantum Structural Studies

Classical Emergence from the Quantum Level

The structural aspects of composite quantum systems in the foundation, interpretation and application of quantum theory is an increasingly prominent topic of physics research. As an emerging field, it seeks to understand the origins of the classical world of experience from the quantum level.

Quantum Structural Studies presents conceptual fundamentals and mathematical methods for investigating the structuring of quantum systems into subsystems. Split into four sections, the topics covered include the historical and philosophical aspects of quantum structures, specific interpretive approaches and ontologies, and alternative methodological approaches to quantum mechanics. Questions addressed are:

• Can the classically relevant degrees of freedom (such as the center of mass) be considered physically realistic, and if so, in what sense?
• In what sense might various emergent structures be relevant for the transition from the quantum description to the classical?
• Do suggested new approaches describe phenomenology and proposals for new experiments?

Specialists, graduate students and researchers seeking an introduction to the field of emergent structures and new directions for research and experimentation can use this book to find up-to-date representative texts and reviews.

Contents:

• Quantum Structures: An Introduction (R E Kastner, J Jeknić-Dugić and G Jaroszkiewicz)

• Historical Aspects:

  • Bohr's Diaphragms (T Bai & J Stachel)
  • "It Ain't Necessarily So": Interpretations and Misinterpretations of Quantum Theory (J Stachel)

• Philosophical Aspects:

  • Beyond Complementarity (R E Kastner)
  • Representational Realism, Closed Theories and the Quantum to Classical Limit (C de Ronde)
  • Principles of Empiricism and the Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics (G Jaroszkiewicz)

• Specific Interpretive Approaches and Ontologies:

  • Primitive Ontology and the Classical World (V Allori)
  • Fluidodynamical Representation and Quantum Jumps (L Chiatti and I Licata)
  • Minkowski Spacetime and QED from Ontology of Time (C Baumgarten)
  • The Quantum State as Spatial Displacement (P Holland)
  • Symmetry and Natural Quantum Structures for Three-Particles in One-Dimension (N L Harshman)
  • Quantum to Classical Transitions via Weak Measurements (E Cohen and Y Aharonov)
  • Bound States as Fundamental Quantum Structures (R E Kastner)

• Methodological Approaches:

  • A Top-Down View of the Classical Limit of Quantum Mechanics (S Fortin and O Lombardi)
  • A Top-Down Versus a Bottom-Up Hidden-Variables Description of the Stern-Gerlach Experiment (M Arsenijević, J Jeknić-Dugić & M Dugić)

Readership: Specialists, graduate students and researchers seeking an introduction to the field of emergent structures in physics.
Key Features:

• This is the first book of its type — the first collected volume focusing on this topic