On Hidden Variables: Value and Expectation No-Go Theorems

Abstract

No-go theorems assert that hidden-variable theories, subject to appropriate hypotheses, cannot reproduce the predictions of quantum theory. We examine two species of such theorems, value no-go theorems and expectation no-go theorems. The former assert that hidden-variables cannot match the predictions of quantum theory about the possible values resulting from measurements; the latter assert that hidden-variables cannot match the predictions of quantum theory about the expectation values of measurements. We sharpen the known results of both species, which allows us to clarify the similarities and differences between the two species. We also repair some flaws in existing definitions and proofs.

50 pages. This paper supersedes arXiv:1503.08084 and incorporates much of its content. Comment to v2: Theorem 13 removed the assumption of convex linearity of effects from previous work. We added to section 6 an example showing that one cannot instead remove the assumption of convex linearity for states