de Barros J A, Holik F
School of Liberal Studies, San Francisco State University, 1900 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Instituto de Física La Plata (CONICET-UNLP), Calle 113 entre 64 y 64 S/N, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2023 Sep 18;381(2255):20220100. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2022.0100. Epub 2023 Jul 24.
Quantum indistinguishability directly relates to the philosophical debate on the notions of identity and individuality. They are crucial for our understanding of multipartite quantum systems. Furthermore, the correct interpretation of this feature of quantum theory has implications that transcend fundamental science and philosophy, given that quantum indistinguishability is a resource in quantum information theory. Most of the conceptual analysis of quantum indistinguishability is restricted to studying the permutational invariance of quantum states, the concomitant quantum statistics and their entanglement. Here, we analyse the role of indistinguishability and non-individuality in other areas of quantum theory. We start by analysing how a very peculiar use of indistinguishability underlies Feynman's rules for summing amplitudes in interference phenomena. Next, we study how quantum indistinguishability is underestimated in several topics of debate in the quantum physics literature, such as the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen argument, Bell's inequalities and the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem. Finally, we argue that an ontology of truly indistinguishable entities can serve as a basis for a quantum ontology that can give interesting answers to the interpretational problems of quantum mechanics. We claim that, in addition to superposition, contextuality and entanglement, indistinguishability (understood in a robust ontological sense) is one of the central features of quantum physics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Identity, individuality and indistinguishability in physics and mathematics'.
量子不可区分性直接关联到关于同一性和个体性概念的哲学辩论。它们对于我们理解多体量子系统至关重要。此外，鉴于量子不可区分性是量子信息论中的一种资源，对量子理论这一特征的正确诠释所产生的影响超越了基础科学和哲学范畴。对量子不可区分性的大多数概念分析都局限于研究量子态的置换不变性、相伴的量子统计及其纠缠。在此，我们分析不可区分性和非个体性在量子理论其他领域中的作用。我们首先分析在费曼用于干涉现象中振幅求和的规则背后，不可区分性是如何以一种非常特殊的方式被运用的。接下来，我们研究在量子物理文献中的几个辩论主题中，比如爱因斯坦 - 波多尔斯基 - 罗森论证、贝尔不等式以及贝尔 - 科亨 - 斯佩克定理，量子不可区分性是如何被低估的。最后，我们认为真正不可区分实体的本体论可以作为一种量子本体论的基础，这种量子本体论能够为量子力学的诠释问题给出有趣的答案。我们主张，除了叠加性、背景相关性和纠缠之外，不可区分性（从一种稳健的本体论意义上去理解）是量子物理的核心特征之一。本文是主题为“物理与数学中的同一性、个体性和不可区分性”这一特刊的一部分。
