Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

On the reality of spin and helicity

  • Part I. Invited Papers Dedicated To Peter Mittelstaedt
  • Published:
Foundations of Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The possibilities of a realistic interpretation of quantum mechanics are investigated by means of a statistical analysis of experiments performed on the simplest type of quantum systems carrying spin or helicity. To this end, fundamental experiments, some new, for measuring polarization are reviewed and (re)analyzed. Theunsharp reality of spin is essential in the interpretation of some of these experiments and represents a natural motivation for recent generalizations of quantum mechanics to a theory incorporating effect-valued measures as unsharp observables and generalized systems of imprimitivity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. P. Mittelstaedt,Philosophical Problems of Modern Physics (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1976); original German, 1st–7th editions, 1963–1989.

    Google Scholar 

  2. P. Mittelstaedt,Quantum Logic (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1978).

    Google Scholar 

  3. P. Mittelstaedt,Sprache und Realität in der modernen Physik (Bibliographisches Institut, Mannheim, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  4. P. Mittelstaedt, inProc. Int. Symp. Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Tokyo 1983, S. Kamefuchiet al., eds. (Phys. Soc. of Japan, 1984), p. 215; P. Mittelstaedt, inProc. 2nd. Int Symp. Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, M. Namikiet al., eds. (Phys. Soc. of Japan, 1987), p. 53.

  5. G. Cassinelli and P. J. Lahti,Found. Phys. 19, 873 (1989); R. Giuntini and H. Greuling,Found. Phys. 19, 931 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  6. W. Gerlach and O. Stern,Z. Phys. 9, 349 (1922).

    Google Scholar 

  7. S. Goudsmit and G. E. Uhlenbeck,Naturwissenschaften 13, 953 (1925);Nature 117, 264 (1926).

    Google Scholar 

  8. W. Pauli,Z. Phys. 43 601 (1927).

    Google Scholar 

  9. A. S. Wightman,Rev. Mod. Phys. 34, 845 (1962).

    Google Scholar 

  10. S. T. Ali and G. G. Emch,J. Math. Phys. 15, 176 (1974).

    Google Scholar 

  11. H. Rauch et al.:Phys. Rev. A 27, 2523 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  12. A. Aspect, et al.:Phys. Rev. Lett. 47, 460 (1981);48, 91, 1804 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  13. P. Busch,Found. Phys. 17, 905 (1987).

    Google Scholar 

  14. E. Prugovecki,Int. J. Theor. Phys. 16, 321 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  15. P. Busch and P. J. Lahti,Found. Phys. 19, 633 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Y. Aharonov, et al.:Phys. Lett. A 124, 199 (1987);Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 1351 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  17. A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, and N. Rosen,Phys. Rev. 47, 777 (1935). D. Bohm,Quantum Theory (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1951).

    Google Scholar 

  18. J. S. Bell,Physics 1, 195 (1964); P. Mittelstaedt and E. W. Stachow,Int. J. Theor. Phys. 22, 517 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  19. A. Aspectet al., Opt. Commun. 34, 46 (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  20. P. Busch, “On the Energy-Time Uncertainty Relation. Part I,”Found. Phys., to appear.

  21. U. Hauser, W. Neuwirth, and N. Thesen:Phys. Lett. A 49, 57 (1974).

    Google Scholar 

  22. M. D. Harvey, L. C. Balling, and J. J. Wright:J. Opt. Soc. Am. 67, 488 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  23. J. D. Franson,Phys. Rev. D 31, 2529 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  24. N. F. Mott and H. S. W. Massey:The Theory of Atomic Collisions, 3rd edn., (Oxford University Press, London, 1965), pp. 210–258.

    Google Scholar 

  25. R. Nitsch, Diplomarbeit, Universität Osnabrück, 1984.

  26. H. Greuling, Dissertation, Universität zu Köln, 1988, to be published.

  27. R. Werner,J. Math. Phys. 27, 793 (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  28. E. Prugovecki,J. Phys. A 10, 543 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  29. F. E. Schroeck, Jr.Found. Phys. 12, 479 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  30. P. Busch,Phys. Rev. D 33, 2253 (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  31. P. Busch, inSymposium on the Foundations of Modern Physics 1987, P. Lahti and P. Mittelstaedt, eds. (World Scientific, Singapore, 1987), p. 105.

    Google Scholar 

  32. B. D'Espagnat,Found. Phys. 16, 351 (1986);Phys. Rev. A 38, 5450 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  33. S. L. Braunstein and C. M. Caves,Found. Phys. Lett. 1, 3 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  34. P. Mittelstaedt, Lecture Notes “Foundations of Quantum Mechanics,” University of Cologne, Spring term, 1987.

  35. P. Alstrom,et al., Am. J. Phys. 50, 697 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  36. A. Böhm,Quantum Mechanics: Foundations and Applications, 2nd edn. (Springer, Berlin, 1986), Chapter XIII.

    Google Scholar 

  37. G. Ludwig,Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Part II (Springer, Berlin, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  38. E. P. Wigner,Z. Phys. 133, 101 (1952).

    Google Scholar 

  39. L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifschitz,Elektrodynamik der Kontinua, 3rd edn. (Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1974), § 66, Problem 4.

    Google Scholar 

  40. N. I. Achieser and I. M. Glasmann,Theorie der linearen Operatoren im Hilbert-Raum (Verlag Harri Deutsch, Frankfurt/M., and Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1981).

    Google Scholar 

  41. F. E. Schroeck, Jr. inSymposium on the Foundations of Modern Physics 1985, P. Lahti and P. Mittelstaedt, eds. (World Scientific, Singapore, 1985), p. 573.

    Google Scholar 

  42. D. Healy and F. E. Schroeck, Jr.: “Application of stochastic quantum mechanics and coherent state methodologies to signal processing,” Florida Atlantic University preprint, 1988. F. E. Schroeck, Jr.,Int. J. Theor. Phys. 28, 247 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  43. M. Grabowski,Found. Phys. 19, 923 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  44. P. Busch,Phys. Lett. A 130, 323 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  45. P. Mittelstaedt, A. Prieur, and R. Schieder,Found. Phys. 17, 891 (1987).

    Google Scholar 

  46. P. Mittelstaedt,Int. J. Theor. Phys. 22, 293 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  47. P. Busch, inSymposium on the Foundations of Modern Physics 1985, P. Lahti and P. Mittelstaedt, eds. (World Scientific, Singapore, 1985), p. 343.

    Google Scholar 

  48. P. Mittelstaedt, inSymposium on the Foundations of Modern Physics 1987, P. Lahti and P. Mittelstaedt, eds. (World Scientific, Singapore, 1987), p. 229.

    Google Scholar 

  49. E. W. Stachow, inSymposium on the Foundations of Modern Physics 1985, P. Lahti and P. Mittelstaedt, eds. (World Scientific, Singapore, 1985), p. 625.

    Google Scholar 

  50. P. Mittelstaedt and E. W. Stachow, eds.:Recent Developments in Quantum Logic (Bibliographisches Institut, Mannheim, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  51. G. Ludwig,Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Part I (Springer, Berlin, 1983).

    Google Scholar 

  52. K. Kraus,States Effects and Operations (Springer, Berlin, 1983).

    Google Scholar 

  53. P. Busch and P. J. Lahti, “Some Remarks on Unsharp Quantum Measurements, Quantum Non-Demolition, and All That,”Ann. Phys. (1989), to appear;Phys. Rev. D 29, 1634 (1984).

  54. S. T. Ali, J. A. Brooke, P. Busch, R. Gagnon, and F. E. Schroeck, Jr.,Can. J. Phys. 66, 238 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  55. J. A. Brooke and F. E. Schroeck, Jr., “Half Integer Spin Representations of the Poincaré Group on Phase Space,” inProc. Int. Symp. on Spacetime Symmetries, Y. S. Kim and W. W. Zachary, eds.,Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl.) 6, 104 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  56. P. Busch, “A Characterisation of Informationally Complete Sets of Physical Quantities” (1989), to be published.

  57. E. Prugovecki and D. P. Greenwood,Found. Phys. 14, 883 (1984).

    Google Scholar 

  58. F. E. Schroeck, Jr.,Rep. Math. Phys. 26, 197 (1988).

    Google Scholar 

  59. F. E. Schroeck, Jr., “A Differential Geometric Structure Associated with Stochastic Quantum Fields,”XIIIrd Int. Colloq. on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics, W. W. Zachary, ed., World Scientific, Singapore, 1984. E. Prugovecki,Found. Phys. 14, 1147 (1984);Class. Quantum Gravit. 4, 1659 (1987);Nuovo Cimento A 97, 597, 837 (1987);Found. Phys. Lett. 2 (1989), to appear.

    Google Scholar 

  60. S. T. Ali,Riv. Nuovo Cimento 8, No. 11 (1985).

  61. E. Prugovecki,Stochastic Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Spacetime, corrected printing (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  62. F. E. Schroeck, Jr.,J. Math. Phys. 22, 2562 (1981);Found. Phys. 12, 479 (1982);Quantum Mechanics on Phase Space, monograph, 1989, to be published.

    Google Scholar 

  63. J. Cattaneo,J. Math. Phys. 23, 659 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität zu Köln, D-5000, Köln 41, Federal Republic of Germany

    Paul Busch

  2. Department of Mathematics, Florida Atlantic University, 33431, Boca Raton, Florida

    Franklin E. Schroeck Jr.

Authors
  1. Paul Busch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Franklin E. Schroeck Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Busch, P., Schroeck, F.E. On the reality of spin and helicity. Found Phys 19, 807–872 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01889302

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01889302

Keywords

Search

Navigation