A system's wave function is uniquely determined by its underlying physical state

Abstract

We address the question of whether the quantum-mechanical wave function $Ψ$ of a system is uniquely determined by any complete description $Λ$ of the system's physical state. We show that this is the case if the latter satisfies a notion of "free choice". This notion requires that certain experimental parameters---those that according to quantum theory can be chosen independently of other variables---retain this property in the presence of $Λ$. An implication of this result is that, among all possible descriptions $Λ$ of a system's state compatible with free choice, the wave function $Ψ$ is as objective as $Λ$.

6+3 pages, 3 figures. This work is related to arXiv:1111.6597, but the argument is simplified and based on fewer assumptions. v2: We have made updates in response to referee comments, including adding figure 1. Additionally, in Appendix B we have corrected an omission, removed an erroneous formula and added more detail to the calculation