Fact-nets: towards a mathematical framework for relational quantum mechanics

TL;DR

This paper introduces fact-nets, a new mathematical framework for relational quantum mechanics that models facts as binary entities involving two systems, aiming to clarify and formalize the relational interpretation.

Contribution

It proposes a radical reformulation of quantum mechanics using fact-nets, providing a mathematical basis for the relational interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Findings

Fact-nets formalism models facts as binary entities.

The framework offers new insights into quantum features.

It clarifies the mathematical structure of RQM.

Abstract

The relational interpretation of quantum mechanics (RQM) has received a growing interest since its first formulation in 1996. Usually presented as an interpretational layer over the usual quantum mechanics formalism, it appears as a philosophical perspective without proper mathematical counterparts. This state of affairs has direct consequences on the scientific debate on RQM which still suffers from misunderstandings and imprecise statements. In an attempt to clarify those debates, the present paper proposes a radical reformulation of the mathematical framework of quantum mechanics which is relational from the start: fact-nets. The core idea is that all statements about the world, facts, are binary entities involving two systems that can be symmetrically thought of as observed and observer. We initiate a study of the fact-nets formalism and outline how it can shed new relational light on some familiar quantum features.