Title

Are Quarticles Discernible?

Authors

Nick Huggett, University of Illinois Chicago

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

4-2009

Abstract

Recently, Simon Saunders has applied Quine's account of discernibility to the theory of identical particles, ultimately to argue (with Muller) that quanta (bosons and fermions) can be weakly discernible. I want to expand on this work along two axes. First, to explain how the results apply to higher kinds of statistics -- 'quarticles'. Second, to dispute the claim that quanta are weakly discernible: I question whether the operators used to discern the particles do not represent the properties that they are claimed to.

Notes

A presentation at the Philosophy of Quantum Field Theory Workshop, which was held at The University of Western Ontario on April 24-26, 2009

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