Limitations to Genuine Measurements in Ontological Models of Quantum Mechanics

TL;DR

This paper proves that in any ontological model of quantum mechanics, it is impossible to perform genuine measurements that determine all underlying beables, challenging the idea that theories should only involve observable quantities.

Contribution

It establishes a fundamental limitation on the measurability of beables in ontological models of quantum mechanics.

Findings

No experiment can reliably determine the entire ontic state.

Genuine measurements are fundamentally limited in ontological models.

Challenges the positivistic view of physical theories.

Abstract

Given an ontological model of a quantum system, a "genuine measurement," as opposed to a quantum measurement, means an experiment that determines the value of a beable, i.e., of a variable that, according to the model, has an actual value in nature before the experiment. We prove a theorem showing that in every ontological model, it is impossible to measure all beables. Put differently, there is no experiment that would reliably determine the ontic state. This result shows that the positivistic idea that a physical theory should only involve observable quantities is too optimistic.