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arXiv:quant-ph/0003061

Measurements in quantum physics: towards a physical picture of relevant processes

Werner A. Hofer

Published Mar 16, 2000• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We propose a new structure of ensembles in quantum theory, based on the recently introduced intrinsic properties of electrons and photons. On this statistical basis the spreading of a wave-packet, collapse of the wave function, the quantum eraser, and interaction-free measurements are re-analyzed and the usual conceptual problems removed.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0003061

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We propose a new structure of ensembles in quantum theory, based on the recently introduced intrinsic properties of electrons and photons. On this statistical basis the spreading of a wave-packet, collapse of the wave function, the quantum eraser, and interaction-free measurements are re-analyzed and the usual conceptual problems removed.
Considering the recently established arbitrariness the Schroedinger equation has to be interpreted as an equation of motion for a statistical ensemble of particles. The statistical qualities of individual particles derive from the unknown intrinsic energy components, they depend on the physical environment by way of external potentials. Due to these statistical qualities and wave function normalization, non-locality is inherent to the fundamental relations of Planck, de Broglie and Schroedinger. A local formulation of these statements is introduced and briefly assessed, the modified and local Schroedinger equation is non-linear. Quantum measurements are analyzed in detail, the exact interplay between causal and statistical reasons in a measurement process can be accounted for. Examples of individual measurement effects in quantum theory are given, the treatment of diffraction experiments, neutron interferences, quantum erasers, the quantum Zeno effect, and interaction-free measurements can be described consistent with the suggested framework. The paper additionally provides a strictly local and deterministic calculation of interactions in a magnetic field. The results suggest that quantum theory is a statistical formalism which derives its validity in measurements from considering every possible measurement of a given system. It can equally be established, that the framework of quantum physics is theoretically incomplete, because a justification of ensemble qualities is not provided.
Ever since the beginning of quantum mechanics, the measurement problem has been a subject of sometimes discontinued but nevertheless recurrent concern. As students, most physicists have raised questions about it, but the spectacular and renewed successes of quantum theory were a strong incentive for them to work out applications without further worrying about foundations. In each generation, however, some dissatisfaction reemerges, which leads to slow progress, and we may expect that the measurement problem will some day be cleared up rather than forgotten. The situation recalls statistical mechanics, the foundations of which still give rise to scientific discussions, in spite of more than one century’s achievements. Actually, the paradoxes of irreversibility and of Maxwell’s demon share some common features with quantum measurements, to wit, they involve probabilities in a crucial fashion and their explanation requires elucidating the role of the observer.
In view of experimentally obtainable resolutions, equal to the Compton wavelength of an electron, the conventional interpretation of quantum mechanics no longer seems to provide a sufficiently subtle tool. Based on the intrinsic properties of extended particles we propose a new theory, which allows to describe fundamental processes with unlimited precision at the microlevel. It is shown how this framework combines classical electrodynamics and quantum mechanics in a single and consistent picture. An analysis of single measurement problems reveals that the theory is suitable to remove some of the most striking paradoxes in quantum mechanics, which are found to originate from obscuring statistical effects with physical reasoning. A possible origin of the infinity problems in relativistic quantum fields is found by analyzing electron accelerations due to photon absorption processes. The current state of the theory and existing problems are discussed briefly.
In the standard, textbook treatment of quantum mechanics, the contact with experiment is described in terms of probabilities for obtaining this, that, or another result, when identical experiments are performed on a huge number ( ensemble ) of identical objects. Such an ensemble description was adequate during the first half century of quantum theory, because the technology of that era was incapable of making a measurement without destroying or severely changing the measured object (photon, atom, …). In recent years, however, advances in technology and technique have made possible repetitive quantum measurements on a single quantum object, with each measurement influencing the object only minimally. Such measurements cannot be analyzed using solely the ensemble theory. Additional theoretical concepts are needed. The purpose of this book is to describe the methods and theory of such measurements (as well as the more elementary theory of ensembles of measurements). This book is written for two types of readers: those who have had only a little previous contact with quantum mechanics, and those who have had much. Readers of the first type are presumed to understand atomic physics at a qualitative level. The unstarred sections of this book offer such readers an overview of the present state-of-the-art of quantum measurements on single objects and prospects for the future, as well as an elementary overview of the theory of such measurements.
This chapter derives the properties of light from the properties of processing, including its ability to be both a wave and a particle, to respond to objects it doesn't physically touch, to take all paths to a destination, to choose a route after it arrives, and to spin both ways at once as it moves. Here a photon is an entity program spreading as a processing wave of instances. It becomes a "particle" if any part of it overloads the grid network that runs it, causing the photon program to reboot and restart at a new node. The "collapse of the wave function" is how quantum processing creates what we call a physical photon. This informational approach gives insights into issues like the law of least action, entanglement, superposition, counterfactuals, the holographic principle and the measurement problem. The conceptual cost is that physical reality is a quantum processing output, i.e. virtual.