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Discovering invisible causes behind the visible world
B
ell experiments demonstrate (within the limits of a few rather eccentric loopholes) nonlocal correlations between space-like separated events, which cannot be explained by means of relativistic influences bounded by the velocity of light. This means that one has to give up the view that the outcomes at each part of the setup result from properties preexisting in the particles before measurement: outcomes in Alice's (respectively Bob's) lab cannot be explained by the properties the photon carries when leaving the source and the settings of Alice's (respectively Bob's) measuring devices.
The
before-before or Suarez-Scarani experiment demonstrates that these nonlocal correlations cannot be explained in terms of "before" and "after", by time-ordered nonlocal influences. Giving up the concept of locality is not sufficient to be consistent with quantum experiments, one has to give up nonlocal determinism, i.e. the view that one event occurring before in time can be considered the cause, and the other occurring later in time the effect. The time-notion makes sense only in the domain of the relativistic local phenomena. The nonlocal correlations cannot be explained by any history in spacetime, they come from outside spacetime. This experimental result upholds the Copenhagen or orthodox interpretation of Quantum Mechanics.
The orthodox interpretation of Quantum Mechanics also claims that in entanglement experiments the local outcomes happen in a "fully random" way, i.e., according to a uniform (non-biased) random distribution. It is possible to decide experimentally between the orthodox interpretation and nonlocal random models assuming biased local outcomes. Leggett-type experiments confirm orthodox Quantum Mechanics. An even stronger confirmation of this result is expected from new experiments in progress according to the Colbeck-Renner proposal.
Putting together the results of these three experiment types one can conclude that in entanglement experiments local random events experience influences from outside spacetime to produce nonlocal order. Quantum correlations unite in the same phenomena full local randomness and nonlocal timeless order.
The Center
for Quantum Philosophy, based in Zurich and Geneva, aims
at wide spreading this discovery, and to stimulate the discussion
about its cultural and philosophical implications.
In this web site, you will find:
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