The density matrix in the de Broglie-Bohm approach

Abstract

If the density matrix is treated as an objective description of individual systems, it may become possible to attribute the same objective significance to statistical mechanical properties, such as entropy or temperature, as to properties such as mass or energy. It is shown that the de Broglie-Bohm interpretation of quantum theory can be consistently applied to density matrices as a description of individual systems. The resultant trajectories are examined for the case of the delayed choice interferometer, for which Bell appears to suggest that such an interpretation is not possible. Bell's argument is shown to be based upon a different understanding of the density matrix to that proposed here.

15 pages, 4 figures

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Quantum Mechanics in a Time-Asymmetric Universe: On the Nature of the Initial Quantum State
• From Time Asymmetry to Quantum Entanglement: The Humean Unification
• Quantum Classical Transition for Mixed States: The Scaled Von Neumann Equation
• Phase-retrieval from Bohm's equations
• The metaphysics of decoherence
• Decoherence, Branching, and the Born Rule in a Mixed-State Everettian Multiverse