Bohmian mechanics without wave function ontology

Bohmian mechanics without wave function ontology

In this paper I critically assess different three-dimensionalist interpretations of Bohmian mechanics in order to evaluate the prospects of interpreting Bohmian mechanics without committing to a wave function-based ontology. More specifically, my aim is to explore the connection between the debate concerning configuration space realism and another interpretive debate that is specific to Bohmian...

The ontology of Bohmian mechanics

The paper points out that the modern formulation of Bohm’s quantum theory known as Bohmian mechanics is committed only to particles’ positions and a law of motion. We explain how this view can avoid the open questions that the traditional view faces according to which Bohm’s theory is committed to a wave-function that is a physical entity over and above the particles, although it is defined on ...

Bohmian Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics and Reality. While quantum mechanics, as presented in physics textbooks, provides us with a formalism, it does not attempt to provide a description of reality. The formalism is a set of rules for computing the probability distribution of the outcome of essentially any experiment (within the realm of quantum mechanics). A description of reality, in contrast, would tell us what ...

Bohmian mechanics contradicts quantum mechanics

It is shown that, for a harmonic oscillator in the ground state, Bohmian mechanics and quantum mechanics predict values of opposite sign for certain time correlations.

D ec 1 99 5 Bohmian Mechanics and the Meaning of the Wave Function