Heisenberg's matrix mechanics is one of the formulations of quantum mechanics that emerged during the early development of the field. While Heisenberg's formulation was groundbreaking and contributed significantly to our understanding of quantum phenomena, it also faced criticism and alternative viewpoints from other physicists. Here are a few notable physicists who raised objections or offered alternative interpretations to parts of Heisenberg's matrix mechanics:
Erwin Schrödinger: Schrödinger developed an alternative formulation of quantum mechanics known as wave mechanics, which provided a wave-based description of particles. He introduced the famous Schrödinger equation, which is a differential equation that describes the time evolution of quantum systems. Schrödinger's wave mechanics was based on a different mathematical framework compared to Heisenberg's matrix mechanics but was eventually shown to be mathematically equivalent.
Albert Einstein: Einstein, along with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, formulated a thought experiment known as the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox. They argued that certain aspects of quantum mechanics, particularly its treatment of entanglement and non-locality, were incomplete or problematic. Einstein famously remarked, "God does not play dice with the universe," expressing his skepticism about the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics.
Louis de Broglie: De Broglie, who proposed the concept of matter waves (wave-particle duality) in his doctoral thesis, initially had reservations about matrix mechanics. He felt that Heisenberg's approach lacked a clear interpretation of physical reality. However, de Broglie later found common ground with Heisenberg and Schrödinger's approaches, and his wave-particle duality concept was incorporated into the broader framework of quantum mechanics.
Max Born: Born made significant contributions to the interpretation of quantum mechanics and the understanding of probabilities in quantum theory. He formulated the statistical interpretation of the wave function, which provided a probabilistic interpretation of the square of the wave function. This interpretation reconciled the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics with the experimental results obtained from it.
It's worth noting that while there were debates and alternative viewpoints regarding specific aspects of quantum mechanics, including Heisenberg's matrix mechanics, these differing perspectives ultimately contributed to the development and refinement of the field as a whole. Quantum mechanics is a highly complex and rich theory, and it continues to be an active area of research and discussion among physicists.