Progress of Theoretical Physics

Probabilistic Interpretation and the Quantum Theory of Measurement. II

Ziro Maki

Published Oct 1, 1989• 8 citations

Abstract

A general theory of quantum-mechanical measurement is presented. It is shown that some general conditions should be satisfied for any apparatus to carry out the ideal measurement, and the reduction of state is an inevitable consequence of the action of such an apparatus. The statistical operator (in weak sense) is defined uniquely for ensembles prepared with respect to the measured observables, without recourse to the expectation value hypothesis. The probabilistic interpretation (the Born ansatz) comes out as a natural explanation of physical contents of the statistical operator after the measurement, rather than an axiomatic presumption of quantum mechanics.

DOI: 10.1143/ptp.82.638

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