Gao S. (Ed.) Protective Measurement and Quantum Reality: Towards a New Understanding of Quantum Mechanics

Cambridge University Press, UK, 2014. — 252 p. — ISBN: 1107069637Protective measurements offer an intriguing method for measuring the wave function of a single quantum system. With contributions from leading physicists and philosophers of physics - including two of the original discoverers of this important method - this book explores the concept of protective measurement, investigating its broad applications and deep implications. Addressing both physical and philosophical aspects, it covers a diverse range of topics, including experimental possibility of protective measurements, connections with the PBR theorem, and the implications of protective measurements for understanding the nature of quantum reality. Including a clear and concise introduction to standard quantum mechanics, conventional measurements, and the fundamentals of protective measurements, this is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers interested in the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics.Protective measurement: an introduction
Fundamentals and applications
Protective measurement of the wave function of a single system
Protective measurement, postselection and the Heisenberg representation
Protective and state measurement: a review
Determination of the stationary basis from protective measurement on a single system
Weak measurement, the energy–momentum tensor and the Bohm approach
Meanings and implications
Measurement and metaphysics
Protective measurement and the explanatory gambit
Realism and instrumentalism about the wave function: how should we choose?
Protective measurement and the PBR theorem
The roads not taken: empty waves, wave function collapse and protective measurement in quantum theory
Implications of protective measurement on de Broglie–Bohm trajectories
Entanglement, scaling, and the meaning of the wave function in protective measurement
Protective measurement and the nature of the wave function within the primitive ontology approach
Reality and meaning of the wave function