Solipsistic hidden variables

TL;DR

This paper introduces solipsistic hidden variables, a new quantum model that maintains locality and reality by associating deterministic trajectories only with the observer's essential degrees of freedom, reducing nonlocality.

Contribution

It presents a novel hidden variable model that interpolates between orthodox and Bohmian interpretations, emphasizing observer-centric trajectories and reduced nonlocality.

Findings

Nonlocality can be confined to microscopic distances within the observer.

The model demonstrates logical consistency with both reality and locality.

It offers a new perspective on hidden variables in quantum mechanics.

Abstract

We argue that it is logically possible to have a sort of both reality and locality in quantum mechanics. To demonstrate this, we construct a new quantitative model of hidden variables (HV's), dubbed solipsistic HV's, that interpolates between the orthodox no-HV interpretation and nonlocal Bohmian interpretation. In this model, the deterministic point-particle trajectories are associated only with the essential degrees of freedom of the observer, and not with the observed objects. In contrast with Bohmian HV's, nonlocality in solipsistic HV's can be substantially reduced down to microscopic distances inside the observer. Even if such HV's may look philosophically unappealing to many, the mere fact that they are logically possible deserves attention.