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arXiv:2306.00298 · New Journal of Physics

Emergent quantum probability from full quantum dynamics and the role of energy conservation

Chen Wang, Jincheng Lu, Jianhua Jiang

Published Oct 1, 2023• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We propose and study a toy model for the quantum measurements that yield the Born’s rule of quantum probability. In this model, the electrons interact with local photon modes and the photon modes are dissipatively coupled with local photon reservoirs. We treat the interactions of the electrons and photons with full quantum mechanical description, while the dissipative dynamics of the photon modes are treated via the Lindblad master equation. By assigning double quantum dots setup for the electrons coupling with local photons and photonic reservoirs, we show that the Born’s rule of quantum probability can emerge directly from microscopic quantum dynamics. We further discuss how the microscopic quantities such as the electron–photon coupling, detuning, and photon dissipation rate affect the quantum dynamics. Surprisingly, in the infinite long time measurement limit, the energy conservation already dictates the emergence of the Born’s rule of quantum probability. For finite-time measurement, the local photon dissipation rate determines the characteristic time-scale for the completion of the measurement, while other microscopic quantities affect the measurement dynamics. Therefore, in genuine measurements, the measured probability is determined by both the local devices and the quantum mechanical wavefunction.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/ad02b6

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Abstract We propose and study a toy model for the quantum measurements that yield the Born’s rule of quantum probability. In this model, the electrons interact with local photon modes and the photon modes are dissipatively coupled with local photon reservoirs. We treat the interactions of the electrons and photons with full quantum mechanical description, while the dissipative dynamics of the photon modes are treated via the Lindblad master equation. By assigning double quantum dots setup for the electrons coupling with local photons and photonic reservoirs, we show that the Born’s rule of quantum probability can emerge directly from microscopic quantum dynamics. We further discuss how the microscopic quantities such as the electron–photon coupling, detuning, and photon dissipation rate affect the quantum dynamics. Surprisingly, in the infinite long time measurement limit, the energy conservation already dictates the emergence of the Born’s rule of quantum probability. For finite-time measurement, the local photon dissipation rate determines the characteristic time-scale for the completion of the measurement, while other microscopic quantities affect the measurement dynamics. Therefore, in genuine measurements, the measured probability is determined by both the local devices and the quantum mechanical wavefunction.
The goal of this paper is to apply the collection of mathematical tools known as the method of arbitrary functions to analyze how the Born rule probabilities arise from quantum dynamics. We argue that in a toy model of quantum measurement the Born rule probabilities can be derived from the unitary Schrödinger dynamics when certain dynamical parameters are treated as random variables with initial probability distributions. Specifically, we study the perturbed double well model, in which the perturbation is treated as a random variable, and we show that for arbitrary initial distributions within a certain class, the dynamics yield the Born rule probabilities in the joint limits given by long times and small values of Planck’s constant (the classical limit). Our results establish the Born rule as a type of universal limiting behavior that is independent of the precise initial dynamical parameters. We suggest that this provides a proof of concept for an explanatory schema for the Born rule, relying only on Schrödinger dynamics, which could generate a full explanation when supplemented with further interpretive details.
The Born rule for computing probabilities of the outcomes of measurements is an indispensable ingredient of quantum mechanics. The standard textbook description of this rule gives the impression that it implies the unitarity of time evolution. This view relies on the argument that unless the dynamics is unitary, the probabilities of finding all possible outcomes of a measurement do not add up to 1, i.e., the total probability is not conserved. We show that this argument is flawed, and that the general expression for the Born rule ensures the conservation of total probabilities even when the dynamics of a quantum system is not unitary. This applies to the dynamics of ensembles of quantum systems in both pure and mixed states. We discuss the status of the local conservation of probabilities and the arguments against the plausibility of non-unitary time evolutions that are based on the identification of the Hamiltonian operator with the energy observable.
The goal of this paper is to apply the collection of mathematical tools known as the "method of arbitrary functions" to analyze how probability arises from quantum dynamics. We argue that in a toy model of quantum measurement the Born rule probabilities can be derived from the unitary Schrödinger dynamics when certain dynamical parameters are treated as themselves random variables with initial probability distributions. Specifically, we study the perturbed double well model, in which the perturbation is treated as a random variable, and we show that for arbitrary initial distributions within a certain class, the dynamics yields the Born rule probabilities in the joint limits given by long times and small values of Planck's constant (the classical limit). Our results establish the Born rule as a type of universal limiting behavior that is independent of the precise initial dynamical parameters.
Description This work develops a foundational reformulation of quantum measurement by treating physical time as an emergent, dynamically produced quantity rather than as an external background parameter. Within the Discrete Expansion and Emergent Time (DEET) framework, physical duration is generated by the spacetime gradient of a scalar phase field, \Theta(x), with the local time flow defined by u_\mu = \nabla_\mu \Theta. Once time is produced rather than assumed, the weighting of mutually exclusive quantum outcomes requires a new structural interpretation. The paper introduces a time-production (allocation) density \rho(\psi), defined as a bookkeeping quantity for realized physical time rather than a probability postulate. By imposing only minimal and physically unavoidable requirements—global phase invariance, locality, separability under independent composition, and additivity under coarse-graining over exclusive alternatives—it is shown that this density is uniquely fixed (up to normalization) as \rho(\psi) \propto |\psi|^2. Measurement is modeled dynamically as a phase–gradient locking process, in which interaction with a macroscopic record sector enforces a shared realized time flow. Total time production is conserved during measurement, but redistributed across exclusive record sectors. Defining outcome weights as ratios of allocated time production yields the Born rule uniquely, without introducing stochastic collapse postulates, subjective probability, or additional interpretive assumptions. In this framework, state reduction corresponds to dynamical stabilization of a single record-compatible time flow rather than non-unitary projection, and apparent randomness arises from coarse-graining over inaccessible microscopic phase configurations. The work clarifies the structural origin of the Born rule, unifies time-dependent and timeless regimes of quantum theory, and identifies conservative falsifiability targets, including finite-time locking dynamics and correlated phase/timing residuals during measurement.
Phase Differential Theory (PDT) proposes that quantum mechanics emerges as an effective description of a deeper dynamical phase manifold. In this framework, four scalar phase fields define a locked background whose long‑wavelength envelope dynamics reproduce the Schrödinger equation. The Born rule arises as the natural conserved probability density compatible with locality and continuity of phase flow, and measurement is interpreted as phase synchronisation between subsystems rather than wavefunction collapse. This paper develops a controlled derivation of the Schrödinger equation as an envelope approximation, identifies the conserved probability current associated with phase flow, and shows that |ψ|² is the natural density selected by locality, positivity, and conservation. Measurement is modelled as a dynamical locking of relative phase between system and apparatus, yielding discrete outcomes without introducing non‑unitary dynamics at the fundamental level. All results are obtained within a low‑energy, long‑wavelength effective regime. The microscopic equations of motion for the phase manifold are intentionally deferred, as the effective envelope theory presented here is self‑contained and does not require explicit microscopic specification.
The Born rule, P(x)=∣ψ(x)∣2P(\mathbf{x})=|\psi(\mathbf{x})|^2P(x)=∣ψ(x)∣2 is one of the most successful relations in modern physics. Yet its physical meaning remains conceptually distinctive. Schrödinger's equation describes the continuous evolution of a complex wave amplitude, whereas an actual detector records discrete and localized events. The Born rule connects these two descriptions with remarkable precision, but the physical mechanism responsible for the quadratic relation between wave amplitude and event frequency is not contained explicitly in the Schrödinger equation itself. This paper revisits the historical and physical relationship between Schrödinger's wave mechanics and Born's statistical interpretation of scattering. The purpose is not to deny the empirical validity of the Born rule, but to identify the physical gap between continuous wave evolution and discrete detection statistics. We distinguish three levels of description: the preparation of localized quantum excitations, their continuous propagation and scattering, and the final microscopic detector event. This leads to a central question: \boxedtext{Why should the rate of discrete detection events be proportional to ∣ψ∣2|\psi|^2∣ψ∣2?} The paper argues that the answer cannot be obtained merely by defining ∣ψ∣2|\psi|^2∣ψ∣2 to be a probability density. Instead, a physical theory must explain how a continuously distributed complex amplitude produces a localized event rate. We investigate the possibility that the quadratic dependence emerges from a local interaction functional, energy-transfer mechanism, or bilinear response of the detector to the incident quantum amplitude. A particularly important distinction is made between the wave amplitude itself and the experimentally recorded event frequency. A single detection event is localized, whereas the Born distribution emerges only through repeated preparations and statistical accumulation. The paper therefore proposes that the Born rule may be viewed as the macroscopic statistical image of a microscopic event-generation process. No completed derivation of Born's rule is claimed here. Rather, the paper formulates the precise dynamical problem that such a derivation must solve and identifies several mathematical and experimental constraints that any successful mechanism must satisfy.