Ontological models with epistemic constraints: Local reconstruction of a dual-rail qubit

Abstract

Restrictions on gaining information may significantly affect perception of the system under study. In this paper we are concerned with mechanisms introducing epistemic constraints in the framework of ontological models and discuss a scheme leading to the minimal operational account which does not rely on the knowledge of the underlying ontology. As a case in point, we construct local ontological model which simulates behaviour of a single quantum particle in dual-rail interferometric circuits. We show that for agents analysing conceivable experimental circuits predictions of the model are indistinguishable from their quantum mechanical counterparts, that is operational account of the model is equivalent to a qubit. Note that it contrasts with the usual understanding the collapse of the wave function as non-local phenomenon, namely the model is local from the construction with any form of ‘non-locality’ being explained as an epistemic effect due to incomplete information about the system. This illustrates flexibility of the ontological model framework, and in particular the possibility of different interpretations behind the same operational account.