Are All Particles Real?

Simple item page
dc.creatorGoldstein, Sheldon
dc.creatorTaylor, James
dc.creatorTumulka, Roderich
dc.creatorZanghi, Nino
dc.date2004-04-23
dc.date2005-02-03
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T06:09:36Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T06:09:36Z
dc.descriptionIn Bohmian mechanics elementary particles exist objectively, as point particles moving according to a law determined by a wavefunction. In this context, questions as to whether the particles of a certain species are real--questions such as, Do photons exist? Electrons? Or just the quarks?--have a clear meaning. We explain that, whatever the answer, there is a corresponding Bohm-type theory, and no experiment can ever decide between these theories. Another question that has a clear meaning is whether particles are intrinsically distinguishable, i.e., whether particle world lines have labels indicating the species. We discuss the intriguing possibility that the answer is no, and particles are points--just points.
dc.description11 pages LaTeX, no figures; v2 minor changes
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0404134
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0404134
dc.identifierStud.Hist.Philos.Mod.Phys. 36 (2005) 103-112
dc.identifierdoi:10.1016/j.shpsb.2004.11.005
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/92016
dc.subjectQuantum Physics
dc.titleAre All Particles Real?
dc.typetext

Files

Collections

arXiv