Bell's theorem and the causal arrow of time

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Einstein held that the formalism of quantum mechanics involves "spooky actions at a distance." In the 1960s, Bell amplified this by showing that the predictions of quantum mechanics disagree with the results of any locally causal description. It should be appreciated that accepting nonlocal descriptions while retaining causality leads to a clash with relativity. Furthermore, the causal arrow of time by definition contradicts time-reversal symmetry. For these reasons, Wheeler and Feynman, Costa de Beauregard, Cramer, Price others have advocated abandoning microscopic causality. In this paper, a simplistic but concrete example of this line of thought is presented, in the form of a retro-causal toy model that is stochastic and provides an appealing description of the quantum correlations discussed by Bell. It is concluded that Einstein's "spooky actions" may occur "in the past" rather than "at a distance," resolving the tension between quantum mechanics and relativity and opening unexplored possibilities for future reformulations of quantum mechanics.

Original languageEnglish
Article number018008AJP
Pages (from-to)1007-1013
Number of pages7
JournalAmerican Journal of Physics
Volume78
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2010
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Bell's theorem and the causal arrow of time'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this