Definition
Relational quantum mechanics (RQM) is an interpretation of quantum mechanics which treats the state of a quantum system as being relational, that is, the state is the relation between the observer and the system. This interpretation was first delineated by Carlo Rovelli in a 1994 preprint, and has since been expanded upon by a number of theorists. It is inspired by the key idea behind special relativity, that the details of an observation depend on the reference frame of the observer, and Wheeler's idea that information theory would make sense of quantum mechanics.
Related concepts
A priori and a posterioriAbelian groupAbsolute simultaneityAd hocAdam FrankAlice and BobBasis (linear algebra)Basis vectorBell's inequalityBell testBell test experimentsBinary numeral systemBitBohm interpretationBoolean algebra (structure)Born ruleBra-ket notationBra–ket notationCarlo RovelliCasimir effectChanda Prescod-WeinsteinClassical mechanicsClaude ShannonClaudio Calosi (philosopher)Coherence (physics)Complementarity (physics)Complex Hilbert spaceConsciousness causes collapseConsistent historiesCopenhagen interpretationCorrelationDavisson–Germer experimentDe Broglie–Bohm theoryDegenerate energy levelsDegrees of freedom (physics and chemistry)Delayed-choice quantum eraserDensity matrixDirac equationDouble-slit experimentEPR paradoxEigenstateEigenvalueEinstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradoxElitzur–Vaidman bomb testerEmpiricismEnergy levelEnsemble interpretationEpistemologyExcited stateFactorizationFrame of referenceFrancesca VidottoFranck–Hertz experimentGauge invarianceGlossary of elementary quantum mechanicsGround stateHamiltonian (quantum mechanics)Heisenberg pictureHelgoland (book)Hidden-variable theoryHidden variable theoryHilbert spaceHilbert space formalismHistory of quantum field theoryHistory of quantum mechanicsHugh EverettHypothesisInformationInformation theoryInteraction pictureInterpretation of quantum mechanicsInterpretations of quantum mechanicsIntersection (set theory)Introduction to quantum mechanicsIsomorphismJohn Archibald WheelerKlein–Gordon equationLee SmolinLight coneLinearLinear combinationLinear subspaceLinearityLocal hidden-variable theoryLocal realismLorentz transformationsLouis CraneMach–Zehnder interferometerMacroscopicMacroscopic scaleMajorana equationMany-worlds interpretationMathematical formulation of quantum mechanicsMatrix mechanicsMeasurement in quantum mechanicsMeasurement problemMicroscopicNPRNanotechnologyObjective-collapse theoryObservationOld quantum theoryOperator (physics)Orthomodular latticePath integral formulationPauli equationPermutationsPhase-space formulationPhase spacePhilosophy of informationPhilosophy of physicsPhysical interactionPhysics WorldPopper's experimentPreferred framePreprintPrinciple of localityQuantum BayesianismQuantum Zeno effectQuantum algorithmQuantum amplifierQuantum biologyQuantum busQuantum cellular automatonQuantum channelQuantum chaosQuantum chemistryQuantum circuitQuantum complexity theoryQuantum computingQuantum cosmologyQuantum cryptographyQuantum decoherenceQuantum differential calculusQuantum dynamicsQuantum engineeringQuantum entanglementQuantum eraser experimentQuantum error correctionQuantum field theoryQuantum finite automatonQuantum fluctuationQuantum geometryQuantum gravityQuantum image processingQuantum imagingQuantum informationQuantum information scienceQuantum information theoryQuantum jumpQuantum key distributionQuantum logicQuantum logic gateQuantum machineQuantum machine learningQuantum measurementQuantum mechanicsQuantum metamaterialQuantum metrologyQuantum mindQuantum mysticismQuantum networkQuantum neural networkQuantum nonlocalityQuantum numberQuantum opticsQuantum programmingQuantum sensorQuantum simulatorQuantum spacetimeQuantum stateQuantum state spaceQuantum state vectorQuantum statistical mechanicsQuantum stochastic calculusQuantum superpositionQuantum systemQuantum teleportationQuantum tunnellingQubitRarita–Schwinger equationRelativistic quantum mechanicsRelativity of simultaneityRoger PenroseRutherford scattering experimentsRydberg formulaScatteringScattering theorySchrödinger's catSchrödinger's cat in popular cultureSchrödinger equationSchrödinger pictureSelf-adjoint operatorSequenceSpacelikeSpecial RelativitySpecial relativitySpin singletStatistically independentStern–Gerlach experimentSuper-observerSuperdeterminismSuperluminal communicationSymmetrySymmetry in quantum mechanicsTensor productTime evolutionTimeline of quantum computing and communicationTimeline of quantum mechanicsTransactional interpretationTupleUncertainty principleUnitary matrixUnitary transformationUniversal wavefunctionWave functionWave function collapseWave interferenceWave–particle dualityWeyl equationWheeler's delayed-choice experimentWigner's FriendWigner's friendYes–no questionZero-point energy
32 concepts already in your glossary