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Quantum Jumps Revisited

Leonardo Chiatti, Ignazio Francesco Licata

Published Jan 10, 2022• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

A theoretical description of quantum jumps at the level of elementary particles is proposed, based on a micro-cosmological interpretation of their de Broglie phase. The third quantization formalism proposed in current literature for the description of baby universes in quantum cosmology is used here to describe the breakdown of unitarity in the transition from the pre-jump to the post-jump wave function. The corpuscular aspect manifested by the particle in the micro-interaction that originates the jump is represented by a pair of evanescent "micro-universes", respectively pre- and post-jump, connected by a wormhole. The latter represents the actual implementation of the interaction that leads to the projection on the outgoing state; this interaction is always local, even when the selected outgoing state is entangled. Therefore, the decoherence which leads to the emergence of classicality is originated by the same fundamental interactions of the Standard Model involved in the unitary evolution of the wave function. The objective nature of the reduction process admits implications on the possibility of using the formalism in the cosmological context, which are briefly discussed.

DOI
10.20944/preprints202201.0115.v1

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A theoretical description of quantum jumps at the level of elementary particles is proposed, based on a micro-cosmological interpretation of their de Broglie phase. The third quantization formalism proposed in current literature for the description of baby universes in quantum cosmology is used here to describe the breakdown of unitarity in the transition from the pre-jump to the post-jump wave function. The corpuscular aspect manifested by the particle in the micro-interaction that originates the jump is represented by a pair of evanescent "micro-universes", respectively pre- and post-jump, connected by a wormhole. The latter represents the actual implementation of the interaction that leads to the projection on the outgoing state; this interaction is always local, even when the selected outgoing state is entangled. Therefore, the decoherence which leads to the emergence of classicality is originated by the same fundamental interactions of the Standard Model involved in the unitary evolution of the wave function. The objective nature of the reduction process admits implications on the possibility of using the formalism in the cosmological context, which are briefly discussed.
The current formulation of quantum theory is notoriously agnostic about the ontological aspects of the propagation of elementary particles and their interactions. In this brief note, we propose a minimal ontological representation of interactions, based on a micro-cosmological description of the manifestation of these particles in the collapse events of their wave function. The fading of the pre-collapse wave function and the arising of the post-collapse function occur dynamically, as they asymptotically approach different sheets of the same micro-cosmological horizon, whose projections onto ordinary spacetime are placed at finite times.
This paper explores an event-based version of quantum mechanics which differs from the commonly accepted one, even though the usual elements of quantum formalism, e.g., the Hilbert space, are maintained. This version introduces as primary element the occurrence of micro-events induced by usual physical (mechanical, electromagnetic and so on) interactions. These micro-events correspond to state reductions and are identified with quantum jumps, already introduced by Bohr in his atomic model and experimentally well established today. Macroscopic bodies are defined as clusters of jumps; the emergence of classicality thus becomes understandable and time honoured paradoxes can be solved. In particular, we discuss the cat paradox in this context. Quantum jumps are described as temporal localizations of physical quantities; if the information associated with these localizations has to be finite, two time scales spontaneously appear: an upper cosmological scale and a lower scale of elementary "particles''. This allows the interpretation of the Bekenstein limit like a particular informational constraint on the manifestation of a micro-event in the cosmos it belongs. The topic appears relevant in relation to recent discussions on possible spatiotemporal constraints on quantum computing.
The current formulation of quantum theory is notoriously agnostic about the ontological aspects of the propagation of elementary particles and their interactions. In this brief note, we propose a minimal ontological representation of interactions, based on a micro-cosmological description of the manifestation of these particles in the collapse events of their wave function. The fading of the pre-collapse wave function and the arising of the post-collapse function occur dynamically, as they asymptotically approach different sheets of the same micro-cosmological horizon, whose projections onto ordinary spacetime are placed at finite times.
The current formulation of quantum theory is notoriously agnostic about the ontological aspects of the propagation of elementary particles and their interactions. In this brief note, we propose a minimal ontological representation of interactions, based on a micro-cosmological description of the manifestation of these particles in the collapse events of their wave function. The fading of the pre-collapse wave function and the arising of the post-collapse function occur dynamically, as they asymptotically approach different sheets of the same micro-cosmological horizon, whose projections onto ordinary spacetime are placed at finite times.
Since 1986 a vast body of experimental evidence has been accumulated of direct observation of quantum jumps in many physical systems. We can therefore assume that quantum jumps are genuine physical phenomena. On the other hand, substantial identity of "quantum jumps" and "collapses" induced by measurements can be admitted, both being represented by self-conjugate projection operators related to specific non-Hamiltonian aspects of micro-interactions. On this basis a model of quantum jump involving a single particle is discussed, and some consequences concerning hadronic physics (Hagedorn temperature, Regge trajectories) and quantum gravity are briefly sketched.
According to the usual quantum description, the time evolution of the quantum state is continuous and deterministic except when a discontinuous and indeterministic collapse of state vector occurs. The collapse has been a central topic since the origin of the theory, although there are remarkable theoretical proposals to understand its nature, such as the Ghirardi–Rimini–Weber. Another possibility could be the assimilation of collapse with the now experimentally well established phenomenon of quantum jump, postulated by Bohr already in 1913. The challenge of nonlocality offers an opportunity to reconsider the quantum jump as a fundamental element of the logic of the physical world, rather than a subsidiary accident. We propose here a simple preliminary model that considers quantum jumps as processes of entry to and exit from the usual temporal domain to a timeless vacuum, without contradicting the quantum relativistic formalism, and we present some potential connections with particle physics. Quanta 2015; 4: 10–26.