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arXiv:2412.00584 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Dynamics of a particle in the double-slit experiment with measurement

Alexey A. Kryukov

Published May 21, 2025• 1 citation
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Abstract

Abstract Spontaneous collapse models use non-linear stochastic modifications of the Schrödinger equation to suppress superpositions of eigenstates of the measured observable and drive the state to an eigenstate. It was recently demonstrated that the Born rule for transition probabilities can be modeled using the linear Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian represented by a random matrix from the Gaussian unitary ensemble. The matrices representing the Hamiltonian at different time points throughout the observation period are assumed to be independent. Instead of suppressing superpositions, such Schrödinger evolution makes the state perform an isotropic random walk on the projective space of states. The relative frequency of reaching different eigenstates of an arbitrary observable in the random walk is shown to satisfy the Born rule. Here, we apply this methodology to investigate the behavior of a particle in the context of the double-slit experiment with measurement. Our analysis shows that, in this basic case, the evolution of the particle’s state can be effectively captured through a random walk on a two-dimensional submanifold of the state space. This random walk reproduces the Born rule for the probability of finding the particle near the slits, conditioned on its arrival at one of them. To ensure that this condition is satisfied, we introduce a drift term representing a change in the variance of the position observable for the state. It is argued that the drift term accounts for the energy transfer and trapping incurred during the particle’s interaction with the detector. A drift-free model, based on equivalence classes of states indistinguishable by the detector, is also considered. The resulting random walk, with or without drift, serves as a suitable model for describing the transition from the initial state to an eigenstate of the measured observable in the experiment, offering new insights into its potential underlying mechanisms.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8121/addbb1

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Abstract It was recently demonstrated that the Born rule for transition probabilities can be modeled using the linear Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian represented by a random matrix from the Gaussian unitary ensemble. The matrices representing the Hamiltonian at different time points throughout the observation period are assumed to be independent. Instead of suppressing superpositions, such Schrödinger evolution makes the state perform an isotropic random walk on the projective space of states. The relative frequency of reaching different eigenstates of an arbitrary observable in the random walk is shown to satisfy the Born rule. Here, we apply this methodology to investigate the behavior of a particle in the context of the double-slit experiment with measurement, offering new insights into its potential underlying mechanisms.
The Born rule asserts the probability distribution of eigenstates observed in unbiased quantum measurements, but the reason it holds remains elusive. This manuscript discusses how the Born rule might be explained by Schrodinger equation dynamics, if a measurement comprises a system responding to random fluctuations until it is within an arbitrarily small tolerance of a measurement eigenstate. We describe the random walk dynamics that produce this behavior in terms of a class of time-dependent, stochastic unitary matrices U(t). We also discuss the class of stochastic potential energies in the Schrodinger equation that is equivalent to this class of unitary matrices. This analysis raises some questions worth considering, including how to determine if any measurements actually follow the predicted random walk mechanism and whether a reliable measurement apparatus could be designed that deviates from Born rule probabilities. Interestingly, if any measurements do follow this random walk mechanism, then exposing a quantum system to stochastic 'noise' is an intrinsic part of such a measurement, not merely an unwanted side effect. This characteristic would have implications for reducing noise in quantum sensing and quantum computing. This is a draft of a work in progress. Questions and suggestions are welcome.
Abstract The motion of a ball through an appropriate lattice of round obstacles models the behavior of a Brownian particle and can be used to describe measurement on a macro system. On another hand, such motion is chaotic and a known conjecture asserts that the Hamiltonian of the corresponding quantum system must follow the random matrix statistics of an appropriate ensemble. We use the Hamiltonian represented by a random matrix in the Gaussian unitary ensemble to study the Schrödinger evolution of non-stationary states. For Gaussian states representing a classical system, the Brownian motion that describes the behavior of the system under measurement is obtained. For general quantum states, the Born rule for the probability of transition between states is derived. It is then shown that the Schrödinger evolution with such a Hamiltonian models measurement on macroscopic and microscopic systems, provides an explanation for the classical behavior of macroscopic bodies and for irreversibility of a measurement, and identifies the boundary between micro and macro worlds.
We develop a dynamical framework for quantum measurement based on stochastic but unitary evolution in projective state space. Random Hamiltonians drawn from the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble generate stochastic unitary dynamics of the quantum state, while equivalence classes reflecting finite detector resolution define classical observables as well as classical configuration-space and phase-space submanifolds. When the evolution is constrained to the phase-space submanifold, free Schrödinger dynamics reduces to Newtonian motion, while stochastic motion constrained to the classical configuration-space submanifold yields ordinary Brownian motion in classical space. Transition probabilities under the stochastic dynamics satisfy the Born rule, whereas the constrained classical evolution produces the normal probability distributions characteristic of classical measurements. We show that, in this setting, measurement, state reduction, and the quantum-classical transition emerge from unitary dynamics alone, without invoking nonunitary collapse or additional postulates. Entanglement and EPR correlations arise geometrically from the evolution of joint states in composite state space, preserving locality in spacetime. The framework provides a unified dynamical account of measurement and classicality compatible with the structure of quantum mechanics.
The Newtonian motion of a macroscopic particle is derived from the linear Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian consisting of the free-particle term and a random Hamiltonian drawn from the Gaussian Unitary Ensemble. The random term models interaction with the environment. We show that the parameters governing the resulting state-space random walk, together with the treatment of experimentally indistinguishable states as equivalence classes, explain the contrasting behavior of microscopic and macroscopic systems. The analysis extends previous work deriving the Born rule for microscopic particles when the free-particle term is negligible.
The motion of a ball through an appropriate lattice of round obstacles models the behavior of a Brownian particle and can be used to describe measurement on a macro system. On another hand, such motion is chaotic and a known conjecture asserts that the Hamiltonian of the corresponding quantum system must follow the random matrix statistics of an appropriate ensemble. We use the Hamiltonian represented by a random matrix in the Gaussian unitary ensemble to study the Schrödinger evolution of non-stationary states. For Gaussian states representing a classical system, the Brownian motion that describes the behavior of the system under measurement is obtained. For general quantum states, the Born rule for the probability of transition between states is derived. It is then shown that the Schrödinger evolution with such a Hamiltonian models measurement on macroscopic and microscopic systems, provides an explanation for the classical behavior of macroscopic bodies and for irreversibility of a measurement, and identifies the boundary between micro and macro worlds.