Books
These books are highly recommended:
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"Quantum Physics Without Quantum Philosophy"
Springer (2013)
This book is a collection of the most important research papers on Bohmian Mechanics by Detlef Dürr, Sheldon Goldstein and Nino Zanghì. It is therefore a technical book, recommended for graduate students and researchers in physics or mathematics. However, the book contains a very good introduction to Bohmian Mechanics that is readable also for non-experts. (A slightly modified version of the introduction can be found here.) The book is divided into three parts: I. Quantum Equilibrium, II. Quantum Motion, III. Quantum Relativity. (See description by the publisher.) -
"Bohmian Mechanics - The Physics and Mathematics of Quantum Theory"
Springer (2009)
This monograph provides an introduction to Bohmian Mechanics that is useful for students as well as for researchers (see description by the publisher). It thoroughly explains Bohmian Mechanics, the quantum mechanical formalism and the role of chance in physics. It is an extended and completely revised translation of Detlef Dürr's book "Bohmsche Mechanik als Grundlage der Quantenmechanik" (Springer 2001). Jean Bricmont wrote a review: "Looking for a quantum ontology". -
"Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics"
Cambridge University Press (1987)
John Bell was one of the greatest proponents of Bohmian Mechanics, with a very clear and sharp view on the foundations of quantum mechanics. This volume contains his collected writings on the foundations of quantum mechanics, including his papers on nonlocality and "Bell's inequality", for which he became famous. Several of Bell's papers are dedicated to explaining Bohmian Mechanics in great detail. Some of the papers are also readable for non-experts. Here is a detailed (20 pages) comment on this book and that of Bohm and Hiley written by Sheldon Goldstein. Detlef Dürr wrote the review "Das Unaussprechliche sprechbar gemacht" of the German translation by Wolfgang Köhler, "Sechs mögliche Welten der Quantenmechanik".
This is a list of other books about Bohmian Mechanics and related topics:
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"Physics and the Nature of Reality: Essays in Memory of Detlef Dürr"
Springer (2024)
This book collects 31 chapters written by Detlef Dürr's former students, collaborators, and colleagues, describing the lasting influence he had on their research. See also the description by the publisher. -
"Foundations of Quantum Mechanics"
Springer (2022)
A detailed introduction to the field for students. It also includes chapters about extensions of Bohmian mechanics to quantum field theory and relativistic space-time. See also the description by the publisher. -
"Understanding Quantum Mechanics: The World According to Modern Quantum Foundations" (2020) in English
"Verständliche Quantenmechanik: Drei mögliche Weltbilder der Quantenphysik" (2018) in German
Springer
This book is an excellent introduction for students to quantum mechanics and its foundational issues. It is about quantum mechanics in general and three possibilities for a consistent formulation of it. See also the description by the publisher in English or in German. -
"Philosophy of Physics: Quantum Theory"
Princeton University Press (2019)
This is an introduction to the conceptual problems of quantum mechanics and the possible solutions, including Bohmian mechanics. It is written in particular for philosophers and contains only few equations. See also the description by the publisher. -
"David Bohm: A Life Dedicated to Understanding the Quantum World"
Springer (2019)
This is a biography of David Bohm. A review of this book by Roderich Tumulka was published in Physics Today (2020). -
"Foundations of Quantum Mechanics: An Exploration of the Physical Meaning of Quantum Theory"
Springer (2017)
This book is part of the Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics and is therefore written on a level accessible to undergraduate students. It provides a systematic introduction to foundational issues (e.g., the measurement problem, the ontology problem, EPR, Bell's theorem, Bohmian Mechanics, GRW, many-worlds). See also the description by the publisher. -
"Quantum Sense and Nonsense"
Springer (2017)
This is a more popular version of the book "Making Sense of Quantum Mechanics" by the same author. It is accessible to a general audience, not assuming any background in mathematics or physics. See also the description by the publisher. -
"Making Sense of Quantum Mechanics"
Springer (2016)
This book sheds light on many foundational aspects of quantum mechanics. It offers an introduction to Bohmian Mechanics less technical than the book by Dürr and Teufel. See also the description by the publisher. Michael Kiessling wrote a review, see here. Another review by Alastair Rae appeared in the Cern Courier, see here. -
"Applied Bohmian Mechanics - From Nanoscale Systems to Cosmology"
Pan Stanford Publishing (2012)
A book about using Bohmian Mechanics as a helpful tool for applications and computations. (See description by the publisher.) The first chapter with a general introduction to Bohmian Mechanics is freely available: arXiv:1206.1084. -
"Bell's Theorem and Quantum Realism - Reassessment in Light of the Schrödinger Paradox"
Springer (2012)
Due to its close conceptual relation to the Conway Kochen Free Will Theorem, Hemmick's PhD thesis was recently updated and reworked by Hemmick in collaboration with Asif Shakur. (See description by the publisher.) -
"Quantum Theory at the Crossroads - Reconsidering the 1927 Solvay Conference"
Cambridge University Press (2007)
The book contains the proceedings of the fifth Solvay Congress (1927) in English translation (so far available only in French), together with a commentary and introductory essays. The volume contains, among other contributions, the famous talk given by Louis de Broglie describing the main ideas of Bohmian mechanics, 25 years before Bohm. The book is available on the arXiv as [quant-ph/0609184]. -
"Quantum Mechanics: Are There Quantum Jumps? and On the Present Status of Quantum Mechanics"
AIP conference proceedings 844, American Institute of Physics (2006)
This book is a collection of 26 original articles, essentially the proceedings of the two conferences "Are there quantum jumps?" (Trieste, Italy, 5 September 2005) and "On the present status of quantum mechanics " (Losinj, Croatia, 7-9 September 2005), held on the occasion of GianCarlo Ghirardi's 70th birthday. For more information see the AIP website. -
"Sneaking a Look at God's Cards - Unraveling the Mysteries of Quantum Mechanics"
Princeton University Press (2005)
This book offers a general introduction to quantum foundations, suitable for advanced undergraduate students, while also useful for researchers. The book traces out a straightforward and continuous path from the classical Newtonian picture and the electromagnetic wave, through the history of the quantum theory and on to all the major issues of quantum foundations. In addition, important applications such as quantum cryptography and computers are discussed in a clear and readable manner. Particularly noteworthy is the book's use of graphic and imaginative physical examples such as photon polarization and birefringent crystals. The book is quite appropriate for physicists of any field. -
"La natura delle cose - Introduzione ai fondamenti e alla filosofia della fisica"
Carocci Editore (2005), in Italian
Translation: "The Nature of Things: Introduction to the foundations and the philosophy of physics". The book contains 4 chapters:
1. La filosofia dello spazio e del tempo (M. Dorato) [The philosophy of space and time]
2. I fondamenti concettuali dell'approccio statistico in fisica (N. Zanghì) [The conceptual foundations of the statistical approach in physics]
3. Un viaggio nel mondo quantistico (V. Allori and N. Zanghì) [A trip to the quantum world]
4. La causalità in fisica (F. Laudisa) [Causality in physics]. -
"Bohmsche Mechanik"
Verlag Harri Deutsch (2004), in German
This is an elementary introduction to Bohmian Mechanics. -
"Bohmsche Mechanik als Grundlage der Quantenmechanik"
Springer (2001), in German
This book provides a detailed introduction to Bohmian mechanics, well readable for students. The topics include the derivation of the quantum formalism from Bohmian mechanics, the mathematical foundations of probability and Hilbert space theory, the resolution of the "paradoxes" of QM, nonlocality and scattering theory. A revised English version of the book appeared in 2009, see above. -
"Chance in Physics: Foundations and Perspective"
Proceedings for the Ischia 1999 conference, published in September 2001 by Springer-Verlag (Lecture Notes in Physics Series)
Topics: Philosophy of Chance, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, and Foundations of Statistical Mechanics. With contributions by S. Adler, C. Cercignani, A. Rimini, H. Spohn, R. Omnès, O. Penrose, P. Suppes, and others. For more details, see the conference website or Springer-Verlag. Detlef Dürr wrote the chapter "Bohmian Mechanics". -
"Properties of Light: A Novel of Love, Betrayal, and Quantum Physics"
Houghton Mifflin Company (2000)
This is, of course, not a physics book but a novel about quantum theory, in particular Bohmian mechanics. -
"Quantum Dialogue: The Making of a Revolution"
University of Chicago Press (1999)
Beller is the Barbara Druss Dibner Professor in History and Philosophy of Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In her book she examines the history of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and finds that its development was not quite the dispassionate response to empirical and mathematical facts presented in physics textbooks. She documents the consolidation of the Copenhagen interpretation as part of a struggle against the opponents of the Göttingen-Copenhagen camp, such as Einstein and Schrödinger, for the leadership of physics. She argues that only if one takes into account the dynamics of this struggle can the contradictory arguments put forward by the proponents of the Copenhagen interpretation be properly understood. -
"Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals' Abuse of Science"
Picador (1999)
Following up on the Social Text affair (see also the article by Mara Beller in the Articles section), Sokal and Bricmont expose the abuse of scientific concepts in the writings of postmodern thinkers. -
"Bohmian Mechanics and Quantum Theory - An Appraisal"
Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht and Boston (1996)
More than 20 contributors, advocates as well as critics of Bohmian Mechanics, analyze this theory, compare it to other approaches, and comment on the applications. -
"Infinite Potential. The Life and Times of David Bohm"
Helix (Addison-Wesley), Reading, MA (1996)
A review written by Sheldon Goldstein appeared first in Science, 275 (1997). -
"Quantum Mechanics: Historical Contingency and the Copenhagen Hegemony"
University of Chicago Press (1994)
Cushing studies the sociological thesis that scientific theories are not always accepted or dismissed solely on the basis of objective and rational arguments, but that sometimes social aspects or even pure coincidence play a role, analyzing as an example the hegemony of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics over theories like Bohmian mechanics. -
"Quantum Non-Locality and Relativity"
Blackwell, Oxford and Cambridge (1994) -
"The Undivided Universe - An Ontological Interpretation of Quantum Theory"
Routledge & Kegan & Paul, London (1993)
Sheldon Goldstein wrote a review which appeared in Physics Today (1994). He also wrote the review-essay "Bohmian Mechanics and the Quantum Revolution" on this book and on J. Bell's "Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics". -
"Quantum Mechanics and Experience"
Harvard University Press (1992)
David Albert is a philosopher and tries to keep the math very simple; nevertheless, his philosophical analysis is fully precise. He explains why orthodox quantum theory is inacceptable and discusses several proposed remedies such as many worlds, many minds, Bohmian mechanics, and Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber. -
"Non-Linear Wave Mechanics - A Causal Interpretation"
Elsevier, Amsterdam (1960)
This book is of historical interest: de Broglie portrays his views of Bohmian mechanics, what he thought of his equations in 1927, how he imagined the future development, why he gave up hidden variables, who raised which objections when against whom, and what the "theory of the double solution" was thought to be like. This book is out of print, but still available in many libraries. -
"Quantum Theory"
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ (1951)
It should be mentioned that David Bohm's 1951 textbook does not contain any material about Bohmian mechanics (which he invented in 1952), but gives quite an orthodox presentation of quantum mechanics, including even a proof alleging to show the impossibility of hidden variables. (You can easily figure out the mistake in the proof by applying it to Bohmian mechanics!) Murray Gell-Mann reports that right after this book appeared, Bohm had a conversation with Einstein, who explained to him why his proof is false, and Bohm later told Gell-Mann: "Now I'm back at the point where I was before I wrote the book."