The Bell theorem revisited: geometric phases in gauge theories

TL;DR

This paper challenges a key assumption in Bell's theorem by highlighting the gauge freedom in measurement orientations, and constructs a local hidden variable model that reproduces quantum predictions, questioning the theorem's universality.

Contribution

It identifies a gauge-related assumption in Bell's theorem and develops a local hidden variable model that aligns with quantum mechanics without this assumption.

Findings

A local hidden variable model reproduces quantum Bell state predictions.

The proof of Bell's theorem relies on a gauge assumption not physically necessary.

The gauge freedom affects the interpretation of measurement settings in Bell tests.

Abstract

The Bell theorem stands as an insuperable roadblock in the path to a very desired intuitive solution of the EPR paradox and, hence, it lies at the core of the current lack of a clear interpretation of the quantum formalism. The theorem states through an experimentally testable inequality that the predictions of quantum mechanics for the Bell polarization states of two entangled particles cannot be reproduced by any statistical model of hidden variables that shares certain intuitive features. In this paper, we show, however, that the proof of the Bell theorem involves a subtle, though crucial, assumption that is not required by fundamental physical principles and, hence, it is not necessarily fulfilled in the experimental setup that tests the inequality. Indeed, this assumption can neither be properly implemented within the standard framework of quantum mechanics. Namely, the proof of the theorem assumes that there exists a preferred absolute frame of reference, supposedly provided by the lab, which enables to compare the orientation of the polarization measurement devices for successive realizations of the experiment and, hence, to define jointly their response functions over the space of hypothetical hidden configurations for all their possible alternative settings. We notice, however, that only the relative orientation between the two measurement devices in every single realization of the experiment is a properly defined physical degree of freedom, while their global rigid orientation is a spurious gauge degree of freedom. Hence, the preferred frame of reference required by the proof of the Bell theorem does not necessarily exist. Following this observation, we build an explicitly local model of hidden variables that reproduces the predictions of quantum mechanics for the Bell states.