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International Journal of Theoretical Physics

On the Concept of State in Quantum Mechanics: Another Way to Decoherence?

Luigi E. Picasso

Published Feb 25, 2023• 1 citation
Publisher
DOI
10.1007/s10773-023-05305-z

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I show that frequentism, as an explanation of probability in classical statistical mechanics, can be extended in a natural way to a decoherent quantum history space, the analogue of a classical phase space. The result is a form of finite frequentism, in which the Gibbs concept of an infinite ensemble of gases is replaced by the quantum state expressed as a superposition of a finite number of decohering microstates. It is a form of finite and actual (as opposed to hypothetical) frequentism insofar as all the microstates exist, even though they may differ macroscopically, in keeping with the decoherence-based Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics.
Some of the problems connected with the interpretation of quantum mechanics are enumerated, in particular those related to some well known paradoxes and, above all, to the measurement process. We then show how the so called "Physics Laboratory Assumption" introduced in [1], which considers as "observables'' only the self-adjoint operators corresponding to existing measuring instruments, can propose a new perspective on the aforementioned problems and can replace the wavefunction collapse postulate. [1] Luigi E. Picasso, "On the Concept of State in Quantum Mechanics: Another Way to Decoherence?'' Int. J. Theor. Phys. 62 (2), (2023)