Bell argument: Locality or Realism? Time to make the choice

TL;DR

This paper argues that quantum experiments support nonobjectivity and challenge Bell's nonlocality assumption, proposing a classical wave model that reproduces quantum probabilities without assuming objective values for observables.

Contribution

It provides a critical analysis of Bell's assumptions, discusses the impact of the Kochen-Specker theorem, and introduces a classical wave-based measurement model consistent with quantum results.

Findings

Experiments support nonobjectivity of quantum observables.

Bell's nonlocality assumption lacks direct experimental confirmation.

A classical wave model can reproduce quantum probabilities without objective observables.

Abstract

This paper discusses a possible resolution of the nonobjectivity-nonlocality dilemma in quantum mechanics in 'the light of experimental tests of the Bell inequality for two entangled photons and a Bell-like inequality for a single neutron. My conclusion is that these experiments show that quantum mechanics is nonobjective: that is, the values of physical observables cannot be assigned to a system before measurement. Bell's assumption of nonlocality has to be rejected as having no direct experimental confirmation, at least thus far. I also consider the relationships between nonobjectivity and contextuality. Specifically, I analyze the impact of the Kochen-Specker theorem on the problem of contextuality of quantum observables. I argue that, just as von Neumann's "no-go" theorem, the Kochen-Specker theorem is based on assumptions that do not correspond to the real physical situation. Finally, I present a theory of measurement based on a classical, purely wave model (pre-quantum classical statistical field theory), a model that reproduces quantum probabilities. In this model continuous fields are transformed into discrete clicks of detectors. While this model is classical, it is nonobjective. In this case, nonobjectivity is the result of the dependence of experimental outcomes on the context of measurement, in accordance with Bohr's view.