scholarly journals On the Quantum Mechanical Wave Function as a Link Between Cognition and the Physical World: A Role for Psychology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Michael Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Wave Function ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Wave Functions ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Mechanical Wave ◽  
Empirical Level ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Empirical Demonstration

A straightforward explanation of fundamental tenets of quantum mechanics concerning the wave function results in the thesis that the quantum mechanical wave function is a link between human cognition and the physical world. The reticence on the part of physicists to adopt this thesis is discussed. A comparison is made to the behaviorists’ consideration of mind, and the historical roots of how the problem concerning the quantum mechanical wave function arose are discussed. The basis for an empirical demonstration that the wave function is a link between human cognition and the physical world is provided through developing an experiment using methodology from psychology and physics. Based on research in psychology and physics that relied on this methodology, it is likely that Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen’s theoretical result that mutually exclusive wave functions can simultaneously apply to the same concrete physical circumstances can be implemented on an empirical level. Original article in The Journal of Mind and Behavior is on JSTOR at https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/43853678.pdf?seq=1 . Preprint on CERN preprint server at https://cds.cern.ch/record/569426 .

Quantum mechanics and quantum information science: The nature of ψ

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (06) ◽  
pp. 1640030
Author(s):  
Partha Ghose
Keyword(s):  
Wave Function ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Information ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Mechanical Wave ◽  
Quantum Information Science

An overview is given of the nature of the quantum mechanical wave function.

Stationary properties of approximate wave functions

1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (21) ◽  
pp. 2355-2361 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Ruffa
Keyword(s):  
Wave Function ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Helium Atom ◽  
Wave Functions ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Mechanical Wave ◽  
Expectation Value ◽  
Charge Densities ◽  
Hartree Fock ◽  
Approximate Wave

The accuracy of quantum mechanical wave functions is examined in terms of certain stationary properties. The most elementary of these, namely that displayed by the class of wave functions which yields a stationary value for the total energy of the system, is demonstrated to necessarily require few other stationary properties, and none of these appear to be particularly useful. However, the class of wave functions which yields both stationary energies and charge densities has very important stationary properties. A theorem is proven which states that any wave function in this class yields a stationary expectation value for any operator which can be expressed as a sum of one-particle operators. Since the Hartree–Fock wave function is known to possess these same stationary properties, this theorem demonstrates that the Hartree–Fock wave function is one of the infinitely many wave functions of the class. Methods for generating other wave functions in this class by modifying the Hartree–Fock wave function without changing its stationary properties are applied to the calculation of wave functions for the helium atom.

scholarly journals On Whether People Have the Capacity to Make Observations of Mutually Exclusive Physical Phenomena

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Michael Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Wave Function ◽  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Physical System ◽  
William James ◽  
Wave Functions ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Human Observer ◽  
Physical Interaction ◽  
Mechanical Wave ◽  
Physical Phenomena

It has been shown by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen that in quantum mechanics one of two different wave functions predicting specific values for quantities represented by non-commuting Hermitian operators can characterize the same physical system, without a physical interaction responsible for which wave function is realized in a measurement. This result means that one can make predictions regarding mutually exclusive features of a physical system. It is important to ask whether people can make observations of mutually exclusive phenomena. Our everyday experience informs us that a human observer is capable of observing one set of physical circumstances at a time. Evidence from psychology, though, indicates that people may have the capacity to make observations of mutually exclusive physical phenomena, even though this capacity in not generally recognized. Working independently, Sigmund Freud and William James provided some of this evidence. How the nature of the quantum mechanical wave function is associated with the problem posed by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen is addressed at the end of the paper.

scholarly journals OBSERVER INVARIANCE OF THE COLLAPSE POSTULATE OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (01n03) ◽  
pp. 1345013 ◽  
Author(s):  
MILTON A. DA SILVA ◽  
ROBERTO M. SERRA ◽  
LUCAS C. CÉLERI
Keyword(s):  
Wave Function ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Reference Frame ◽  
Relative Motion ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Measurement Process ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Wave Function Collapse ◽  
Amount Of Information ◽  
Effective Efficiency

We analyze the wave function collapse as seen by two distinct observers (with identical detectors) in relative motion. Imposing that the measurement process demands information transfer from the system to the detectors, we note that although different observers will acquire different amount of information from their measurements due to correlations between spin and momentum variables, all of them will agree about the orthogonality of the outcomes, as defined by their own reference frame. So, in this sense, such a quantum mechanical postulate is observer invariant, however the effective efficiency of the measurement process differs for each observer.

The Possibility of Quantum Medicine in Cancer Research: A Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Mahsa Faramarzpour ◽  
Mohammadreza Ghaderinia ◽  
Hamed Abadijoo ◽  
Hossein Aghababa
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Cancer Biology ◽  
Quantum Physics ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Quantum Biology ◽  
Biological Phenomena ◽  
Game Changer

There is no doubt that quantum mechanics has become one of the building blocks of our physical world today. It is one of the most rapidly growing fields of science that can potentially change every aspect of our life. Quantum biology is one of the most essential parts of this era which can be considered as a game-changer in medicine especially in the field of cancer. Despite quantum biology having gained more attention during the last decades, there are still so many unanswered questions concerning cancer biology and so many unpaved roads in this regard. This review paper is an effort to answer the question of how biological phenomena such as cancer can be described through the quantum mechanical framework. In other words, is there a correlation between cancer biology and quantum mechanics, and how? This literature review paper reports on the recently published researches based on the principles of quantum physics with focus on cancer biology and metabolism.

Quantum Interference

2019 ◽  
pp. 66-88
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Hilbert Space ◽  
Wave Function ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Interference ◽  
Standard Theory ◽  
Quantum Decoherence ◽  
Entangled States ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Standard Formulation ◽  
Complex Valued

Moving to more subtle experiments, we consider how the standard formulation of quantum mechanics predicts and explains interference phenomena. Tracking the conditions under which one observes interference phenomena leads to the notion of quantum decoherence. We see why one must sharply distinguish between collapse phenomena and decoherence phenomena on the standard formulation of quantum mechanics. While collapses explain determinate measurement records, environmental decoherence just produces more complex, entangled states where the physical systems involved lack ordinary physical properties. We characterize the quantum-mechanical wave function as both an element of a Hilbert space and a complex-valued function over a configuration space. We also discuss how the wave function is interpreted in the standard theory.

scholarly journals Did bohr succeed in defending the completeness of quantum mechanics?

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63
Author(s):  
Kunihisa Morita
Keyword(s):  
Wave Function ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Recent Trend ◽  
Physical Reality ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Quantum Mechanical ◽  
Mechanical Description ◽  
Quantum Mechanical Description ◽  
Completeness Of Quantum Mechanics

This study posits that Bohr failed to defend the completeness of the quantum mechanical description of physical reality against Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen’s (EPR) paper. Although there are many papers in the literature that focus on Bohr’s argument in his reply to the EPR paper, the purpose of the current paper is not to clarify Bohr’s argument. Instead, I contend that regardless of which interpretation of Bohr’s argument is correct, his defense of the quantum mechanical description of physical reality remained incomplete. For example, a recent trend in studies of Bohr’s work is to suggest he considered the wave-function description to be epistemic. However, such an interpretation cannot be used to defend the completeness of the quantum mechanical description.

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