We show that one may interpret physical reality as random fields in space-time. These have a probability given by the expectation of a coherent state projection operator, called the $Q$-function. The resulting dynamical evolution includes retrocausal effects. This suggests that a physical universe exists without requiring observers, but with a well-defined probability for its field configuration. By including the meter dynamics, we show that field trajectories have quantum measurement properties without wave-function collapse, including sharp measured eigenvalues. We treat continuous and discrete measurements and show that this model predicts Bell inequality violations for measurements on correlated spins. A discussion is give of a number of well-known quantum paradoxes, showing how these can be treated in a realistic model of measurement. Our theory resolves a number of practical and philosophical issues in quantum measurement, and we compare it with earlier theories.

• Received 28 August 2019
• Revised 12 March 2020
• Accepted 11 June 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.033266

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society