On the Physical Untenability of the Standard Notion of Quantum State

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the concept of quantum state in standard quantum mechanics, revealing deep inconsistencies and arguing that the notion is fundamentally untenable for rational scientific understanding.

Contribution

It exposes the contradictions among various definitions of quantum state in the axiomatic framework and discusses their implications for the foundations of physics.

Findings

Identifies inconsistencies in quantum state definitions

Highlights uncritical acceptance in literature

Argues for the untenability of the quantum state concept

Abstract

The notion of quantum state plays a fundamental role within the Standard account of Quantum Mechanics (SQM) as established by Dirac and von Neumann during 1930s and up to the present. In this work we expose the deep inconsistencies that exist within the multiple definitions of the notion of quantum state that are provided within this axiomatic formulation. As we will argue, these different inconsistent definitions continue to be -- even today -- uncritically confused within the mainstream physical and philosophical literature leading to self-contradictory statements and wrong conclusions. We end with a discussion regarding the untenability of this concept for any rational understanding of theoretical physics.