Quantum Epistemology Beyond Quantum Measurement

众所周知，一般来说，量子力学不能确定地预测给定实验的任何一个结果，而是预测可能结果的概率值分布。在量子力学的解释中，一个经久不衰的问题是：这些概率究竟意味着什么？许多人认为量子概率代表了一些客观的东西，比如重复试验中测量结果的频率。另一些人则提出了一种可能更为激进的观点，即量子概率只代表了一个人的主观个人信念。根据这种主观观点，用量子力学进行预测的不同的人甚至可能对实验结果的概率产生合理的分歧。这些对量子概率的客观和主观解释呈现出截然不同的哲学观点。理解量子概率不仅对理解理论本身很重要；它对量子信息和量子计算领域也有影响，这些领域旨在利用量子理论开发新技术。这个项目的目标是通过发展一种观点来研究量子概率的状态，这种观点不要求量子概率仅仅是客观的或仅仅是主观的，而是允许两种可能性。该项目将分析量子力学中客观概率和主观概率之间的关系，以获得关于它们如何融入物理概率本质的重要见解。目前的项目通过将概率问题与量子力学解释中的其他有争议的话题分离开来，以一种新颖的方式接近量子概率的解释。关于概率是客观频率还是主观信念的问题，已经在现有的工作中通过将答案与量子理论中测量状态的更有争议的观点联系起来来解决。例如，一些研究人员基于量子测量的观点得出了对概率的理解，这意味着存在一个由许多世界组成的“多重宇宙”。这个项目将开发分析客观概率和主观概率之间关系的方法，这些方法不依赖于这些高度争议的问题。因此，该项目旨在通过建立理解量子概率的工具来产生持久的影响，这些工具将适用于量子力学的最终解释。因此，该项目将为进一步的研究和理解奠定基础，这将通过在研讨会上传播开发的方法来培训早期的跨学科研究人员，以及通过公开讲座来吸引更广泛的社区参与这些关于基础物理学和概率本质的深刻问题。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

It is well known that quantum mechanics does not, in general, predict any one outcome of a given experiment with certainty, but instead predicts a distribution of probability values for possible outcomes. One enduring question in the interpretation of quantum mechanics is: just what do these probabilities signify? Many believe quantum probabilities represent something objective, such as frequencies of measurement outcomes in repeated trials. Others suggest a perhaps more radical view that quantum probabilities only represent a person’s subjective personal beliefs. On this subjective view, different people making predictions with quantum mechanics might even reasonably disagree about the probabilities of experimental outcomes. These objective and subjective interpretations of quantum probability present starkly different philosophical viewpoints. And understanding quantum probabilities is not only important for making sense of the theory itself; it also has implications for the fields of quantum information and quantum computing, which aim to use quantum theory to develop new technologies. The goal of this project is to investigate the status of quantum probability by developing a view that does not require quantum probabilities to be only objective or only subjective, but instead allows for both possibilities. The project will analyze the relationships among objective and subjective probabilities in quantum mechanics to yield important insights about how they both figure into the nature of physical probability.The current project approaches the interpretation of quantum probability in a novel way by separating questions about probability from other controversial topics in the interpretation of quantum mechanics. The question of whether probabilities are objective frequencies or subjective beliefs has been addressed in existing work by tying an answer to more contentious views about the status of measurements in quantum theory. For example, some investigators reach an understanding of probability based on a view of quantum measurement that implies the existence of a "multiverse" of many worlds. This project will develop methods for analyzing the relationship between objective and subjective probabilities, methods which do not depend on such highly debated issues. As such, the project aims to make a lasting impact by establishing tools for understanding quantum probability that will apply, regardless of the ultimate interpretation of quantum mechanics. The project will thus lay the foundation for further research and understanding, which will be aided by disseminating the developed methods in a workshop to train early career interdisciplinary researchers, as well as public lectures to engage the broader community in these deep questions about fundamental physics and the nature of probability.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.