The Superposition Principle in Quantum Mechanics - did the rock enter the foundation surreptitiously?

TL;DR

This paper investigates the historical and conceptual foundations of the superposition principle in quantum mechanics, analyzing how it was integrated into the theory by key founders like Bohr and Dirac, and its implications for the theory's structure.

Contribution

It provides a historical and conceptual analysis of how the superposition principle became central to quantum theory, examining original perspectives of Bohr and Dirac.

Findings

Superposition principle is fundamental and rigid in quantum theory.

Historical analysis reveals how Bohr and Dirac contributed to its foundational role.

The principle's integration is linked to the development of matrix and wave mechanics.

Abstract

The superposition principle forms the very backbone of quantum theory. The resulting linear structure of quantum theory is structurally so rigid that tampering with it may have serious, seemingly unphysical, consequences. This principle has been succesful at even the highest available accelerator energies. Is this aspect of quantum theory forever then? The present work is an attempt to understand the attitude of the founding fathers, particularly of Bohr and Dirac, towards this principle. The Heisenberg matrix mechanics on the one hand, and the Schrodinger wave mechanics on the other, are critically examined to shed light as to how this principle entered the very foundations of quantum theory.