Probability in Physics Frontiers Collection Hardcover

This collection of essays by some of the world's foremost experts, presents an in-depth analysis of the meaning of probabilities in contemporary physics.;Introduction / Yemima Ben-Menahem and Meir Hemmo -- Physics and chance / David Albert -- Typicality and the role of the Lebesgue measure in statistical mechanics / Itamar Pitowsky -- Typicality and notions of probability in physics / Sheldon Goldstein -- Deterministic laws and epistemic chances / Wayne C. Myrvold -- Measures over initial conditions / Meir Hemmo and Orly Shenker -- A new approach to the approach to equilibrium / Roman Frigg and Charlotte Werndl -- Revising statistical mechanics : probability, typicality and closure time / Alon Drory -- How many Maxwell's demons, and where? / Eric Fanchon, Klil Ha-Horesh Neori, and Avshalom C. Elitzur -- Locality and determinism : the odd couple / Yemima Ben-Menahem -- Why the Tsirelson bound? / Jeffrey Bub -- Three attempts at two axioms for quantum mechanics / Daniel Rohrlich -- Generalized probability measures and the framework of effects / William Demopoulos -- Infinitely challenging : Pitowsky's subjective interpretation and the physics of infinite systems / Laura Ruetsche and John Earman -- Bayesian conditioning, the reflection principle, and quantum decoherence / Christopher A. Fuchs and Rüdiger Schack -- The world according to de Finetti : on de Finetti's theory of probability and its application to quantum mechanics / Joseph Berkovitz -- Four and a half axioms for finite-dimensional quantum probability / Alexander Wilce -- Probability in the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics / Lev Vaidman. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-16 Physics and Chance....Pages 17-40 Typicality and the Role of the Lebesgue Measure in Statistical Mechanics....Pages 41-58 Typicality and Notions of Probability in Physics....Pages 59-71 Deterministic Laws and Epistemic Chances....Pages 73-85 Measures over Initial Conditions....Pages 87-98 A New Approach to the Approach to Equilibrium....Pages 99-113 Revising Statistical Mechanics: Probability, Typicality and Closure Time....Pages 115-134 How Many Maxwell’s Demons, and Where?....Pages 135-148 Locality and Determinism: The Odd Couple....Pages 149-165 Why the Tsirelson Bound?....Pages 167-185 Three Attempts at Two Axioms for Quantum Mechanics....Pages 187-200 Generalized Probability Measures and the Framework of Effects....Pages 201-217 Infinitely Challenging: Pitowsky’s Subjective Interpretation and the Physics of Infinite Systems....Pages 219-232 Bayesian Conditioning, the Reflection Principle, and Quantum Decoherence....Pages 233-247 The World According to de Finetti: On de Finetti’s Theory of Probability and Its Application to Quantum Mechanics....Pages 249-280 Four and a Half Axioms for Finite-Dimensional Quantum Probability....Pages 281-298 Probability in the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics....Pages 299-311 Back Matter....Pages 313-321 What is the role and meaning of probability in physical theory, in particular¡in two of the most successful theories of our age, quantum physics and¡statistical mechanics? Laws once conceived as universal and deterministic, ¡such as Newton's laws of motion, or the second law of thermodynamics, are replaced in these theories by inherently probabilistic laws. This collection¡of essays by some of the world's foremost experts presents an in-depth¡analysis of the meaning of probability in contemporary physics. Among the¡questions addressed are: How are probabilities defined? Are they objective or subjective? What is their¡¡explanatory value?¡What are the differences between quantum and classical probabilities?¡The result is an informative and thought-provoking book for the scientifically¡inquisitive.¡ What is the role and meaning of probability in physical theory, in particular in two of the most successful theories of our age, quantum physics and statistical mechanics? Laws once conceived as universal and deterministic, such as Newton‘s laws of motion, or the second law of thermodynamics, are replaced in these theories by inherently probabilistic laws. This collection of essays by some of the world‘s foremost experts presents an in-depth analysis of the meaning of probability in contemporary physics. Among the questions addressed are: How are probabilities defined? Are they objective or subjective? What is their explanatory value? What are the differences between quantum and classical probabilities? The result is an informative and thought-provoking book for the scientifically inquisitive.