Stories in the two-state vector formalism

Abstract The two-state vector formalism of quantum mechanics is a time-symmetrized approach to standard quantum theory. In our work, we aim to establish rigorous foundations for the future investigation within this formalism. We introduce the concept of a story—a compatible pair consisting of a two-state vector and an ideal measurement. Using this concept, we examine the structure of the space comprising all two-state vectors. We analyze the problem of distinguishability and confirm that some pairs of two-state vectors or their statistical mixtures cannot be physically distinguished. In particular, we discuss an example of a two-state vector that is indistinguishable from a statistical mixture of separable two-state vectors and provide an example of a two-state vector that can be distinguished from every such mixture. This leads us to formulate the definition of a strictly non-separable two-state vector as a genuine manifestation of entanglement between the past and the future.