Observables, disassembled

Roberts, Bryan W. ORCID: 0000-0003-0548-1280 (2018) Observables, disassembled. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 63. pp. 150-162. ISSN 1355-2198

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Abstract

How should we characterise the observable aspects of quantum theory? This paper argues that philosophers and physicists should jettison a standard dogma: that observables must be represented by self-adjoint or Hermitian operators. Four classes of non-standard observables are identified: normal operators, symmetric operators, real-spectrum operators, and none of these. The philosophical and physical implications of each are explored.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.journals.elsevier.com/studies-in-histo...
Additional Information:	© 2018 Elsevier
Divisions:	Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Subjects:	Q Science > QC Physics
Date Deposited:	22 Mar 2018 15:37
Last Modified:	15 Nov 2025 01:55
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/87338

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