Foundations of Physics

(2012c) Towards a Geometrical Syntax: a Formalization of Radical Minimalism

by Diego Gabriel Krivochen

Which Me am I? Branching, Fission, Probability, and Pizza in Everettian Quantum Mechanics

by Jon Lawhead

Sufficient conditions for uniqueness of the weak value

by Justin Dressel

J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 45, 015304 (2012)

We review and clarify the sufficient conditions for uniquely defining the generalized weak value as the weak limit of... more We review and clarify the sufficient conditions for uniquely defining the generalized weak value as the weak limit of a conditioned average using the contextual values formalism introduced in Dressel, Agarwal and Jordan (2010 Phys. Rev. Lett. http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.240401). We also respond to criticism of our work by Parrott (arXiv:1105.4188v1) concerning a proposed counter-example to the uniqueness of the definition of the generalized weak value. The counter-example does not satisfy our prescription in the case of an underspecified measurement context. We show that when the contextual values formalism is properly applied to this example, a natural interpretation of the measurement emerges and the unique definition in the weak limit holds. We also prove a theorem regarding the uniqueness of the definition under our sufficient conditions for the general case. Finally, a second proposed counter-example by Parrott (arXiv:1105.4188v6) is shown not to satisfy the sufficiency conditions for the provided theorem.

Explaining Experience in Nature: The Foundations of Logic and Apprehension

by Steven Ericsson-Zenith

A note on Hardy's paradox

by Han Geurdes

CHSH and local hidden causality

by Han Geurdes

What is an elementary physical object? A system-theoretic approach

by László E. Szabó

Measuring which-path information with coupled electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometers

by Justin Dressel

Phys. Rev. B 85, 045320 (2012).

We theoretically investigate a generalized “which-path” measurement on an electronic Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI)... more We theoretically investigate a generalized “which-path” measurement on an electronic Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) implemented via Coulomb coupling to a second electronic MZI acting as a detector. The use of contextual values, or generalized eigenvalues, enables the precise construction of which-path operator averages that are valid for any measurement strength from the available drain currents. The form of the contextual values provides direct physical insight about the measurement being performed, providing information about the correlation strength between system and detector, the measurement inefficiency, and the proper background removal. We find that the detector interferometer must display maximal wavelike behavior to optimally measure the particle-like which-path information in the system interferometer, demonstrating wave-particle complementarity between the system and detector. We also find that the degree of quantum erasure that can be achieved by conditioning on a specific detector drain is directly related to the ambiguity of the measurement. Finally, conditioning the which-path averages on a particular system drain using the zero-frequency cross correlations produces conditioned averages that can become anomalously large due to quantum interference; the weak-coupling limit of these conditioned averages can produce both weak and detector-dependent semiweak values.

EFFECTS OF STANDARD AND MODIFIED GRAVITY ON INTERPLANETARY RANGES

by Lorenzo Iorio

L. Iorio, EFFECTS OF STANDARD AND MODIFIED GRAVITY ON INTERPLANETARY RANGES, International Journal of Modern Physics D, vol. 20, no. 2, 181-232, 2011

We numerically investigate the impact on the two-body range of several Newtonian and non-Newtonian dynamical effects... more We numerically investigate the impact on the two-body range of several Newtonian and non-Newtonian dynamical effects for some Earth-planet (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) pairs, in view of the expected cm-level accuracy in some future planned or proposed interplanetary ranging operations. The general relativistic gravitomagnetic Lense–Thirring effect should be modeled and solved for in future accurate ranging tests of Newtonian and post-Newtonian gravity, because it falls within their measurability domain. It could a priori "imprint" the determination of some of the target parameters of the tests considered. Moreover, the ring of the minor asteroids, Ceres, Pallas, Vesta (and also many other asteroids if Mars is considered) and the trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) act as sources of nonnegligible systematic uncertainty on the larger gravitoelectric post-Newtonian signals from which it is intended to determine the parameters γ and β of the parametrized post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism with very high precision (several orders of magnitude better than the current 10-4–10-5 levels). Also, other putative, nonconventional gravitational effects, like a violation of the strong equivalence principle (SEP), a secular variation of the Newtonian constant of gravitation G, and the Pioneer anomaly, are considered. The presence of a hypothetical, distant planetary-sized body X could be detectable with future high-accuracy planetary ranging. Our analysis can, in principle, be extended to future interplanetary ranging scenarios in which one or more spacecrafts in heliocentric orbits are involved. The impact of fitting the initial conditions, and of the noise in the observations, on the actual detectability of the dynamical signatures investigated, which may be partly absorbed in the estimation process, should be quantitatively addressed in further studies.

An Absolute Phase Space for the Physicality of Matter

by John Valentine

Published as: John S. Valentine, AIP Conf. Proc. 1316, 349 (2010), DOI:10.1063/1.3536446, at http://link.aip.org/link/?APCPCS/1316/349/1
Oral Presentation: http://johnvalentine.co.uk/po8.php?art=art100713
Website containing more descriptive articles: http://johnvalentine.co.uk/po8.php
Informal Summary: We create the physicality of matter using new foundations, which can be used as basis for many different legacy pictures. Examples are shown and implications discussed.

We define an abstract and absolute phase space for intrinsic sub-quantum wave states, each of three axes mapping... more We define an abstract and absolute phase space for intrinsic sub-quantum wave states, each of three axes mapping directly to a duality having fundamental ontological basis. Many aspects of quantum physics emerge from the interaction algebra and a model deduced from principles of ‘unique solvability’ and ‘identifiable entity’, and we reconstruct previously abstract fundamental principles and phenomena from these new foundations. The physical model defines two-part continuous bosonic waves in the APS, and four-part fermions as snapshots of those waves when simple conditions are met. To illustrate the scheme, we provide examples of slit experiments and of QCD, and suggest approaches for other applications.