Abstract
What is quantum mechanics trying to tell us about the nature of reality? Why it has the form it does? What fundamentally distinguishes quantum randomness and classical randomness, where do they part ways? It is remarkable that after 90 years since the completion of quantum mechanics, and despite its unparalleled pragmatical successes in predicting the experimental results, physicists and philosophers have not yet arrived at a consensus on the answers to the above foundational questions. One of the reasons is that the axioms of quantum mechanics are presented in a very abstract mathematical language with obscure meaning (e.g., states and physical quantities are represented by Hermitian operators in a complex Hilbert space, etc.) within an operational framework.
In this talk, I will argue that quantum mechanics is a modified version of everyday, conventional classical statistical mechanics. Quantum mechanics and classical statistical mechanics are developed within a common axiomatic realist framework. Relative to the classical statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics is distinguished
via a physical (ontic) extension, introducing a global-nonseparable variable generating physical correlation, and a specific statistical (epistemic) restriction, constraining the allowed phase space distribution that Nature allows us to prepare. The ontic extension and epistemic restriction, with strength on the order of Planck’s constant, imply quantum uncertainty relation and entanglement, two of the most distinguished concepts widely argued as responsible for the puzzling features of quantum worlds.
The new phase space model for quantum mechanics may offer novel (hopefully more powerful) tool to study quantum optics, quantum transport, and cold atoms. We expect that the (realist) model could provide fresh insight and better intuition to investigate the physical mechanisms and resources underlying the power and complexity of quantum information protocols (quantum computers, quantum communications, quantum cryptography, etc.) relative to their classical counterparts. Moreover, the axiomatic framework may suggest natural and consistent possible
extensions of quantum mechanics by relaxing some of its axioms.