superdeterminism

English

Etymology

super- +‎ determinism.

Noun

superdeterminism (uncountable)

1. (physics, quantum mechanics) A form of determinism that precludes the assumption, made by Bell's theorem, that an experimenter can make measurements that are independent of each other and of any hidden variables.

   In the context of Bell's theorem, superdeterminism represents a hypothesis whereby a key assumption of the theorem—that it is possible to make measurements that are independent both of each other and of any hidden variables that would determine the measurement outcome—is not fulfilled, and so the theorem is inapplicable.

   • 2012, Douglas L. Hemmick, Asif M. Shakur, Bell's Theorem and Quantum Realism, Springer, page 54:

     If we permit superdeterminism of this kind, involving the rigorous establishment of both human experimenters and of the quantum system, then the EPR/Bell argument is essentially halted from the beginning.

   • 2016, Gerard 't Hooft, The Cellular Automaton Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Fundamental Theories of Physics: Volume 185, Springer, page 4,

     Bell noticed that superdeterminism could provide a loophole around his theorem, but as most researchers also today, he was quick to dismiss it as "absurd". As we hope to be able to demonstrate, however, superdeterminism may not quite be absurd as it seems.

   • 2021, Sabine Hossenfelder, Tim Palmer, Rethinking Superdeterminism, Alberto Casado, Ana Maria Cetto, Karl Hess, Andrea Valdés-Hernández (editors), Towards a Local Realist View of the Quantum Phenomenon, Frontiers Media (Frontiers in Physics), page 20,

     Superdeterminism is frequently acknowledged as experimentally unclosed loophole (see e.g., [2]) with which one can explain deterministically the observed violations of Bell's inequality. However, for a variety of reasons, many physicists think Superdeterminism is a non-starter.

Usage notes

• The assumption (made by Bell's theorem) that measurements can be chosen and performed that are independent both of each other and of the hidden variables that would determine the measurement outcome may be referred to as measurement independence or statistical independence.
• This assumption is also sometimes referred to as the "free choice" or "free will" assumption, since its negation implies that human experimenters are not free to choose which measurement to perform.
• Consequently, superdeterminism is often characterised as the absence of free will.

Related terms

• superdeterminist
• superdeterministic

Translations

form of determinism that negates a key assumption of Bell's theorem

• French: superdéterminisme m
• German: Superdeterminismus m
• Italian: superdeterminismo m
• Portuguese: superdeterminismo m

Further reading

• Bell's theorem on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Hard determinism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Necessitarianism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Free will theorem on Wikipedia.Wikipedia