ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5906-5857
Date of Award
Summer 2026
Language
English
Embargo Period
7-26-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Physics
Program
Physics
First Advisor
Rongwei Yang
Committee Members
Daniel Robbins, Matthew Szydagis, Oleg Lunin, Carlo Cafaro
Keywords
Quantum Measurement Problem, Niels Bohr, Bohrian Program, Epistemic Constraints, Observers, Quantum Theory
Subject Categories
Logic and Foundations | Quantum Physics
Abstract
This doctoral dissertation on the foundations of quantum theory tells the story of a conceptual protagonist I have called “Epistemic Constraint.” Here, epistemic constraints are the definite, intersubjectively agreeable, ordinary-language conditions under which experiments are described.
The usual formulation of the quantum measurement problem, which I call the Schrodingerian measurement problem, has the structure of an anomaly: if we take quantum theory at face value, we expect no definite values, and yet we see definite values in experiments. The responses to this problem have been either to solve it or to dissolve it. These responses, which have taken the form of interpretation, modification, or reconstruction of quantum mechanics, seek either to derive epistemic constraints from within quantum mechanics, as is the case with certain interpretations and modifications, or to posit the epistemic constraint, or parts of it, as a primitive assumption with the goal of deriving quantum mechanics, as is the case in some reconstruction programs.
In contrast to the Schrodingerian measurement problem, this dissertation develops the Bohrian Program, which has a structure similar to the problem historically associated with Euclid’s fifth postulate. It seeks to keep epistemic constraints as primitive in an onto-epistemic sense. It then seeks new physical conclusions from the joint consideration of quantum mechanics and epistemic constraints, without seeking to derive one from the other.
The approach therefore slightly expands the list of what is considered primitive in the foundations of quantum theory.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Premkumar Immanuel, Varun Immanuel, "On Quantum Processes and the Epistemic Constraints" (2026). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 514.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/514