Identical Quantum Particles and Weak Discernibility

Abstract

We examine a recent argument that ``identical'' quantum particles with an anti-symmetric state (fermions) are weakly discernible objects, just like irreflexively related ordinary objects in situations with perfect symmetry (Black's spheres, for example). We conclude that the argument uses a silent premise that is not justified in the quantum case.

Cited by in corpus (7)

• How Classical Particles Emerge From the Quantum World
• Quantum Particles as Conceptual Entities: A Possible Explanatory Framework for Quantum Theory
• The Gibbs Paradox and the Distinguishability of Identical Particles
• The Quantum Nature of Identity in Human Thought: Bose-Einstein Statistics for Conceptual Indistinguishability
• The Logic of Identity: Distinguishability and Indistinguishability in Classical and Quantum Physics
• The definition of the thermodynamic entropy in statistical mechanics
• Quantum Structure in Cognition, Origins, Developments, Successes and Expectations