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Physical Review

"Theory of Measurement" in Differential-Space Quantum Theory

Armand Siegel, Norbert Wiener

Published Jan 1, 1956• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The "reduction of the wave packet" is an essential feature of the quantum description of measurement. Since it means an abrupt change in the wave function, it therefore also implies an abrupt change in the statistical description of the system. If the differential-space theory of quantum systems rests on a description of reality more detailed than quantum mechanics, it must contain an account of this change which is consistent with the strictly probabilistic point of view of the theory. It is here shown that the theory does satisfy this necessary condition. The need of a special postulate for the measurement process is eliminated in this formulation, and a new explicitness is introduced into the description.

DOI
10.1103/physrev.101.429

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The "reduction of the wave packet" is an essential feature of the quantum description of measurement. Since it means an abrupt change in the wave function, it therefore also implies an abrupt change in the statistical description of the system. If the differential-space theory of quantum systems rests on a description of reality more detailed than quantum mechanics, it must contain an account of this change which is consistent with the strictly probabilistic point of view of the theory. It is here shown that the theory does satisfy this necessary condition. The need of a special postulate for the measurement process is eliminated in this formulation, and a new explicitness is introduced into the description.
The theory of measurement is reasonably interpreted without any abrupt and noncausal change of a state, namely, with no “reduction of a wave packet”, in the framework of quantum mechanics. Though a process of measurement is causal in the usual quantum-mechanical sense, it is possible to utilize the concept of the “reduction of a wave packet” without any loss of compatibility. The Stern-Gerlach experiment is put to a careful study to show that the present interpretation is consistent with experiment.
A new type of representation of the wave function of quantum mechanics, and a new form of the statistical interpretation of the wave function, are presented. The variable in the new representation is a mapping of points of differential space, closely related to Hilbert space, but having an associated measure for suitably defined sets of points in it. In the new statistical interpretation, an eigenvalue of every observable defined in the system is associated with each point in differential space. This can be done in such a way that, for each observable, the measure (=probability) of the set of all differential-space points belonging to a given set of eigenvalues is equal to the quantum-mechanical probability, calculated in the usual way (Born statistical postulate), that an experiment will yield an eigenvalue in this set. Thus we obtain an interpretation of quantum mechanics in terms of probability densities or probabilities instead of probability amplitudes.
New theory of measurement is presented to show that quantum mechanics can describe the whole processes of quantum-mechanical measurement leading to the so-called reduction of wave packet if applied properly to the total system of object and apparatus. We introduce a simple model, where momenta of particles are measured using a perfect rigid mirror, to yield the reduction of wave packet in a clear-cut way. Microscopic uncertainties of macroscopic quantities and the dynamical scattering theory play the essential roles. Before entering into the main part, we briefly summarize the controversial points in the theory of measurement.
The measurement problem in quantum mechanics is re-examined and it is shown that it cannot really be solved in a satisfactory way, within the framework of the usual interpretation of the theory. We then discuss von Neumann's attempts to prove that quantum mechanics is incompatible with the introduction of hidden variables, and develop a more detailed form of Bell's argument, showing that von Neumann's analysis is invalid. Using certain ideas that are implicit in the "differential-space" theory of Wiener and Siegel, we go on to propose a new deterministic equation of motion, describing a kind of coupling of the measuring instrument to the observed system that explains in detail how the wave packet is "reduced" during a measurement in a continuous and causally determined way. By averaging over the hidden parameters, we then recover the usual statistical results of quantum mechanics as a special case. However, a more detailed analysis of the theory shows that new experimental and theoretical questions can now be raised, which go outside the framework of the quantum theory as it is now formulated. These questions are examined briefly.
The Bohmian formulation of quantum mechanics is used in order to describe the measurement process in an intuitive way without a reduction postulate in the framework of a deterministic single system theory. Thereby the motion of the hidden classical particle is chaotic during almost all nontrivial measurement processes. For the correct reproduction of experimental results, it is further essential that the distribution function P(x)P(x)P(x) of the results of a position measurement is identical with ∣Ψ∣2|Ψ|^2∣Ψ∣2 of the wavefunction ΨΨΨ of the single system under consideration. It is shown that this feature is not an additional assumption, but can be derived strictly from the chaotic motion of a single system during a sequence of measurements, providing a completely deterministic picture of the statistical features of quantum mechanics.