"Yet Once More": The Double-Slit Experiment and Quantum Discontinuity

Area of Science:

• Quantum Physics
• Foundations of Physics

Background:

• The double-slit experiment is a cornerstone in quantum mechanics, demonstrating wave-particle duality.
• Traditional interpretations grapple with the nature of quantum reality and observation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reconsider the double-slit experiment from a nonrealist "reality-without-realism" (RWR) perspective.
• To integrate three forms of quantum discontinuity into a unified framework for understanding quantum phenomena.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the double-slit experiment through the lens of RWR.
• Incorporation of Heisenberg discontinuity (impossibility of conceptualizing quantum processes).
• Application of Bohr discontinuity (classical description of quantum phenomena).
• Emphasis on Dirac discontinuity (quantum objects as observation-dependent idealizations).

Main Results:

• The RWR perspective, integrating the three discontinuities, offers a novel framework for understanding the double-slit experiment.
• Dirac discontinuity is crucial for the foundational argument, highlighting the idealized nature of quantum objects.
• This approach avoids realist assumptions about pre-existing quantum properties.

Conclusions:

• The study proposes a nonrealist interpretation of quantum mechanics, particularly for the double-slit experiment.
• Quantum phenomena and objects are best understood as emergent properties of observation, not independent realities.
• This framework reconciles the predictive success of quantum theory with the conceptual challenges of quantum reality.