aiqbench analysis
This historical analysis of early quantum debates clarifies the shift from physical waves in 3D space to abstract configuration spaces, offering critical context for understanding foundational interpretations like pilot-wave theory and many-worlds. By tracing the arguments of Einstein, de Broglie, Schrödinger, and Bohm, the paper illuminates why the physical reality of the wave function was once abandoned and later resurrected in modern discourse. Such deep dives into the philosophy of physics are essential for researchers navigating the ontological foundations of quantum mechanics.
Historical Debates over the Physical Reality of the Wave Function
arXiv:2602.09397v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: This paper provides a detailed and unified historical account of early debates over wave-function realism, the modern term for the view that the wave function of quantum theory is physically real. As this paper will show, the idea of physical waves associated with particles had its roots in work by Einstein and de Broglie, who both originally thought of these waves as propagating in three-dimensional physical space. De Broglie quickly turned this wave--particle duality into an early pilot-wave theory, on which a particle's associated ``phase wave'' piloted or guided the particle along its trajectory. Schr\"odinger built on de Broglie's phase-wave hypothesis to provide a comprehensive account of the nascent quantum theory. However, Schr\"odinger's new ``undulatory mechanics'' came at the cost of replacing de Broglie's phase waves propagating in physical space with a wave function propagating in a system's abstract configuration space. The present work will argue that this move from three-dimensional physical space to a many-dimensional configuration space was a decisive reason why the founders of quantum theory uniformly abandoned the physical reality of the wave function. This paper will further clarify that de Broglie introduced two distinct pilot-wave theories, and will then argue that it was Bohm's rediscovery of the second of these two pilot-wave theories over two decades later, as well as Bohm's vociferous defense of wave-function realism, that were responsible for resurrecting the idea of an ontological wave function. Finally, this paper will describe how the influence of Schr\"odinger and Bohmended up playing a central role in Everett's development of the ``many worlds'' interpretation.
Abstract:This paper provides a detailed and unified historical account of early debates over wave-function realism, the modern term for the view that the wave function of quantum theory is physically real. As this paper will show, the idea of physical waves associated with particles had its roots in work by Einstein and de Broglie, who both originally thought of these waves as propagating in three-dimensional physical space. De Broglie quickly turned this wave--particle duality into an early pilot-wave theory, on which a particle's associated ``phase wave'' piloted or guided the particle along its trajectory. Schrödinger built on de Broglie's phase-wave hypothesis to provide a comprehensive account of the nascent quantum theory. However, Schrödinger's new ``undulatory mechanics'' came at the cost of replacing de Broglie's phase waves propagating in physical space with a wave function propagating in a system's abstract configuration space. The present work will argue that this move from three-dimensional physical space to a many-dimensional configuration space was a decisive reason why the founders of quantum theory uniformly abandoned the physical reality of the wave function. This paper will further clarify that de Broglie introduced two distinct pilot-wave theories, and will then argue that it was Bohm's rediscovery of the second of these two pilot-wave theories over two decades later, as well as Bohm's vociferous defense of wave-function realism, that were responsible for resurrecting the idea of an ontological wave function. Finally, this paper will describe how the influence of Schrödinger and Bohmended up playing a central role in Everett's development of the ``many worlds'' interpretation.
History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph); Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
arXiv:2602.09397 [physics.hist-ph]
(or arXiv:2602.09397v2 [physics.hist-ph] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.09397 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjh/s13129-026-00129-x Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources
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Full text under the publisher's open licence · 365 words
