2012/07/30 by O. J. E. Maroney, Maroney, O. J. E. · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Philosophy and History of Science #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #Statistical Mechanics and Entropy
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1207.6906
openalex publication_date 2012/07/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
A novel no-go theorem is presented which sets a bound upon the extent to which 'Ψ-epistemic' interpretations of quantum theory are able to explain the overlap between non-orthogonal quantum states in terms of an experimenter's ignorance of an underlying state of reality. The theorem applies to any Hilbert space of dimension greater than two. In the limit of large Hilbert spaces, no more than half of the overlap between quantum states can be accounted for. Unlike other recent no-go theorems no additional assumptions, such as forms of locality, invasiveness, or non-contextuality, are required.