From Joint to Single-System Psi-Onticity Without Preparation Independence
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Quantum Physics arXiv:2601.17662 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 25 Jan 2026] Title:From Joint to Single-System Psi-Onticity Without Preparation Independence Authors:Shan Gao View a PDF of the paper titled From Joint to Single-System Psi-Onticity Without Preparation Independence, by Shan Gao View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:The Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph (PBR) theorem establishes $\psi$-onticity for individual quantum systems, but its standard formulation relies on the Preparation Independence Postulate (PIP). This has led to a prevalent view that rejecting PIP leaves open the possibility of $\psi$-epistemic models for individual systems. In this work, we show that this understanding is incomplete: once the PBR theorem establishes $\psi$-onticity for composite systems prepared in product states, the $\psi$-onticity of the individual subsystems follows directly from the tensor-product structure of quantum mechanics, without invoking PIP or any further auxiliary assumptions. This result removes a key auxiliary assumption from the PBR theorem, closes a persistent loophole for preserving $\psi$-epistemic models, and strengthens the conceptual foundations of $\psi$-ontology. Comments: Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2601.17662 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2601.17662v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2601.17662 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Journal reference: Found Phys 56, 7 (2026) Related DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-025-00910-w Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources Submission history From: Shan Gao [view email] [v1] Sun, 25 Jan 2026 02:41:27 UTC (13 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled From Joint to Single-System Psi-Onticity Without Preparation Independence, by Shan GaoView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-01 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) Links to Code Toggle Papers with Code (What is Papers with Code?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)