Abstract
Modal interpretations of QM have the welcome consequence that unitarily evolved post-measurement states which superpose eigenstates of the anticipated pointer observable can represent devices registering determinate measurement outcomes. Albert and Loewer have claimed that modal interpretations cannot account for the outcomes of “error-prone” measurements. But Albert, Loewer, and their commentators have not always appreciated the relation of measurement error to the Albert-Loewer problem. I argue that measurement error is neither necessary nor sufficient to generate the Albert-Loewer problem, and use the Araki-Yanase theorem to show that measurements of a large class of observables, if they are error-free, are beset by the Albert-Loewer problem.
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Ruetsche, L. Measurement error and the Albert-Loewer problem. Found Phys Lett 8, 327–344 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02187813
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02187813