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Can Quantum Mechanics be Formulated as a Classical Probability Theory?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

Leon Cohen
Leon Cohen*
Affiliation:
Yale University
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Abstract

It is shown that quantum mechanics cannot be formulated as a stochastic theory involving a probability distribution function of position and momentum. This is done by showing that the most general distribution function which yields the proper quantum mechanical marginal distributions cannot consistently be used to predict the expectations of observables if phase space integration is used. Implications relating to the possibility of establishing a “hidden” variable theory of quantum mechanics are discussed.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 33 , Issue 4 , December 1966 , pp. 317 - 322
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1966

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