Are All Particles Real?

Details Are All Particles Real? Are All Particles Real?

2004-04-23

arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0404134v2

Stud.Hist.Philos.Mod.Phys. 36 (2005) 103-112

Physics

Quantum Physics

11 pages LaTeX, no figures; v2 minor changes

Scientific paper

10.1016/j.shpsb.2004.11.005

In Bohmian mechanics elementary particles exist objectively, as point particles moving according to a law determined by a wavefunction. In this context, questions as to whether the particles of a certain species are real--questions such as, Do photons exist? Electrons? Or just the quarks?--have a clear meaning. We explain that, whatever the answer, there is a corresponding Bohm-type theory, and no experiment can ever decide between these theories. Another question that has a clear meaning is whether particles are intrinsically distinguishable, i.e., whether particle world lines have labels indicating the species. We discuss the intriguing possibility that the answer is no, and particles are points--just points.

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