The Problem of Contextuality and the Impossibility of Experimental Metaphysics Thereof
arXiv:1012.3052 · doi:10.1016/j.shpsb.2011.06.001
Abstract
Recently a new impulse has been given to the experimental investigation of contextuality. In this paper we show that for a widely used definition of contextuality there can be no decisive experiment on the existence of contextuality. To this end, we give a clear presentation of the hidden variable models due to Meyer, Kent and Clifton (MKC), which would supposedly nullify the Kochen-Specker Theorem. Although we disagree with this last statement, the models play a significant role in the discussion on the meaning of contextuality. In fact, we introduce a specific MKC-model of which we show that it is non-contextual and completely in agreement with quantum mechanical predictions. We also investigate the possibility of other definitions of non-contextuality --with an emphasis on operational definitions-- and argue that any useful definition relies on the specification of a theoretical framework. It is therefore concluded that no experimental test can yield any conclusions about contextuality on a metaphysical level.
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- How Real are Quantum States in -ontic Models?
- Speakable in Quantum Mechanics
- Constraints on Macroscopic Realism Without Assuming Non-Invasive Measurability
- Kochen-Specker non-contextuality through the lens of quantization