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Equation 1 · Part 5 · Comparing the Main Approaches to Quantum Foundations and Measurement

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P(a)=∣⟨a∣ψ⟩∣2P(a) = |\langle a \mid \psi \rangle|^2
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What this part means

A raised number can be a power. When it is a label or bound, it selects a case or the upper limit of a sum; the formula’s structure distinguishes these uses.

Its job in the formula

A raised mark can be a power or an index. Its position and the surrounding notation determine which.

The passage around this formula

Start with the settled part, because it is smaller than most accounts suggest and it is worth stating precisely. Quantum mechanics gives the Born rule: the probability of a measurement outcome is the squared modulus of a probability amplitude, P(a)=∣⟨a∣ψ⟩∣2P(a) = |\langle a \mid \psi \rangle|^2. for a system in state |ψ\psi⟩\rangle measured in a basis containing |a⟩\rangle . Every interpretation discussed here reproduces this rule for every experiment that has actually been performed. That includes Bell tests. John Bell showed in 1964 that any theory obeying two assumptions — that a measurement’s outcome depends only on a hidden variable carried by the particle and on the local setting of its own detector, not on the distant…

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Learn the underlying idea

An exponent tells how a base is used in multiplication. In x³, x is the base and 3 is the exponent: x³ = x × x × x.

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Sources cited in the surrounding passage

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