Intersubjectivity and value reproducibility of outcomes of quantum measurements

Every measurement determines a single value as its outcome, and yet quantum mechanics predicts it only probabilistically. The Kochen-Specker theorem and Bell's inequality are often considered to reject a realist view but favor a skeptical view that measuring an observable does not mean ascertaining the value that it has, but producing the outcome, having only a personal meaning. However, precise analysis supporting this view is unknown. Here, we show that a quantum mechanical analysis turns down this view. Supposing that two observers simultaneously measure the same observable, we can well pose the question as to whether they always obtain the same outcome, or whether the probability distributions are the same, but the outcomes are uncorrelated. Contrary to the widespread view in favor of the second, we shall show that quantum mechanics predicts that only the first case occurs. We further show that any measurement establishes a time-like entanglement between the observable to be measured and the meter after the measurement, which causes the space-like entanglement between the meters of different observers. We also show that our conclusion cannot be extended to measurements of so-called 'generalized' or 'unsharp' observables, suggesting a demand for reconsidering the notion of observables in foundations of quantum mechanics.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2025-10-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-65927-z
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.25

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article

Intersubjectivity and value reproducibility of outcomes of quantum measurements

Masanao Ozawa
1 citations
Scientific Reports
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
1.25
article

Intersubjectivity and value reproducibility of outcomes of quantum measurements

Masanao Ozawa
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Every measurement determines a single value as its outcome, and yet quantum mechanics predicts it only probabilistically. The Kochen-Specker theorem and Bell's inequality are often considered to reject a realist view but favor a skeptical view that measuring an observable does not mean ascertaining the value that it has, but producing the outcome, having only a personal meaning. However, precise analysis supporting this view is unknown. Here, we show that a quantum mechanical analysis turns down this view. Supposing that two observers simultaneously measure the same observable, we can well pose the question as to whether they always obtain the same outcome, or whether the probability distributions are the same, but the outcomes are uncorrelated. Contrary to the widespread view in favor of the second, we shall show that quantum mechanics predicts that only the first case occurs. We further show that any measurement establishes a time-like entanglement between the observable to be measured and the meter after the measurement, which causes the space-like entanglement between the meters of different observers. We also show that our conclusion cannot be extended to measurements of so-called 'generalized' or 'unsharp' observables, suggesting a demand for reconsidering the notion of observables in foundations of quantum mechanics.

Scientific ReportsVol. 15(1)
Ritsumeikan University (JP), Chubu University (JP), RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (JP), Nagoya University (JP)
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
1.25
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