Local Realism, Contextualism and Loopholes in Bell`s Experiments

TL;DR

This paper argues that incorporating space-time structure into quantum mechanics could reconcile it with local realism, challenging the common interpretation of Bell's theorem and highlighting unavoidable loopholes in experiments testing quantum non-locality.

Contribution

It introduces a formal framework integrating space-time into quantum mechanics, suggesting that local realism may be compatible with quantum theory when context and structure are considered.

Findings

Bell's inequalities may not be violated when space-time is included

Loopholes in Bell test experiments are unavoidable

Quantum mechanics can be consistent with local realism under certain conditions

Abstract

It is currently widely accepted, as a result of Bell's theorem and related experiments, that quantum mechanics is inconsistent with local realism and there is the so called quantum non-locality. We show that such a claim can be justified only in a simplified approach to quantum mechanics when one neglects the fundamental fact that there exist space and time. Mathematical definitions of local realism in the sense of Bell and in the sense of Einstein are given. We demonstrate that if we include into the quantum mechanical formalism the space-time structure in the standard way then quantum mechanics might be consistent with Einstein's local realism. It shows that loopholes are unavoidable in experiments aimed to establish a violation of Bell`s inequalities. We show how the space-time structure can be considered from the contextual point of view. A mathematical framework for the contextual approach is outlined.