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dc.contributor.authorRingbauer, M
dc.contributor.authorDuffus, B
dc.contributor.authorBranciard, C
dc.contributor.authorCavalcanti, EG
dc.contributor.authorWhite, AG
dc.contributor.authorFedrizzi, A
dc.date.accessioned2019-02-15T05:08:23Z
dc.date.available2019-02-15T05:08:23Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.identifier.issn1745-2473
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/nphys3233
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/172510
dc.description.abstractQuantum mechanics is an outstandingly successful description of nature, underpinning fields from biology through chemistry to physics. At its heart is the quantum wavefunction, the central tool for describing quantum systems. Yet it is still unclear what the wavefunction actually is: does it merely represent our limited knowledge of a system, or is it in direct correspondence to reality? Recent no-go theorems argued that if there was any objective reality, then the wavefunction must be real. However, that conclusion relied on debatable assumptions. Here we follow a different approach without these assumptions and experimentally bound the degree to which knowledge interpretations can explain quantum phenomena. Using single photons, we find that no knowledge interpretation can fully explain the limited distinguishability of non-orthogonal quantum states in three and four dimensions. Assuming that a notion of objective reality exists, our results thus strengthen the view that the wavefunction should directly correspond to this reality.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherNature Publishing Group
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom249
dc.relation.ispartofpageto254
dc.relation.ispartofissue3
dc.relation.ispartofjournalNature Physics
dc.relation.ispartofvolume11
dc.subject.fieldofresearchQuantum information, computation and communication
dc.subject.fieldofresearchFoundations of quantum mechanics
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode510803
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode510802
dc.titleMeasurements on the reality of the wavefunction
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dc.type.codeC - Journal Articles
dc.description.versionAccepted Manuscript (AM)
gro.rights.copyright© 2015 Nature Publishing Group. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal website for access to the definitive, published version.
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorCavalcanti, Eric G.


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