• DOI:10.1002/9780470752166
• Corpus ID: 116860071

Quantum non-locality and relativity

@inproceedings{Maudlin1994QuantumNA,
  title={Quantum non-locality and relativity},
  author={Tim Maudlin},
  year={1994}
}

• T. Maudlin
• Published 1994
• Physics

It is sometimes stated that composite quantum systems in entangled states are fundamentally ‘non-local’(i.e. a measurement on one component system can affect a spacelike separated system ‘instantaneously’) and therefore, non-relativistic quantum mechanics violates Relativity theory. This conclusion is usually thought to follow directly from Bell's Theorem in quantum mechanics and the upper limit on velocities provided by the speed of light in Relativity. But exactly what if the conflict between the kind of non-locality exhibited by entangled quantum systems and either the Special or General Theory of Relativity? Maudlin's Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity is a beautifully crafted book that attempts to answer this question by evaluating four purported restrictions imposed by Relativity. He also considers four attempts to formulate Lorentz invariant quantum theories and concludes that such accounts exact a high philosophical price. Maudlin has achieved his first goal: he gives a lucid exposition of the tension between quantum non-locality and Relativity theory which is accessible to the non-specialist. But is there a high philosophical price to be paid for Lorentz invariant quantum theories and can we afford it?