Relativistic Constraints on Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics

TL;DR

This chapter reviews how relativity constrains various interpretations of quantum mechanics, analyzing approaches like hidden variables, collapse theories, many-worlds, and non-realist views.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of the impact of relativistic principles on different quantum interpretation frameworks.

Findings

Relativity imposes specific constraints on hidden-variables theories.

Dynamical collapse theories face challenges under relativistic considerations.

Many-worlds interpretations are compatible with relativistic constraints.

Abstract

This chapter, from the Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Physics (Eleanor Knox and Alastair Wilson, eds., 2021), is an overview of the constraints that relativity places on interpretations of quantum theory. It focuses on four main avenues of approach: (i) additional beables theories, which include "hidden-variables" theories and modal interpretations, (ii) dynamical collapse theories, (iii) Everettian, or "many-worlds" interpretations, and (iv) non-realist interpretations, which deny that quantum states represent anything in physical reality independent of considerations of agents and their beliefs.