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arXiv:quant-ph/9910020

Toward the Collapse of State

Slobodan Prvanović, Z. Marić, Belgrade, Serbia

Published Oct 5, 1999• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The basic concepts of classical mechanics are given in the operator form. Then, the hybrid systems approach, with the operator formulation of both quantum and classical sector, is applied to the case of an ideal nonselective measurement. It is found that the dynamical equation, consisting of the Schrödinger and Liouville dynamics, produces noncausal evolution when the initial state of measured system and measuring apparatus is chosen to be as it is demanded in discussions regarding the problem of measurement. Nonuniqueness of possible realizations of transition from pure noncorrelated to mixed correlated state is analyzed in details. It is concluded that collapse of state is the only possible way of evolution of physical systems in this case.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/9910020

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The basic concepts of classical mechanics are given in the operator form. Then, the hybrid systems approach, with the operator formulation of both quantum and classical sector, is applied to the case of an ideal nonselective measurement. It is found that the dynamical equation, consisting of the Schrödinger and Liouville dynamics, produces noncausal evolution when the initial state of measured system and measuring apparatus is chosen to be as it is demanded in discussions regarding the problem of measurement. Nonuniqueness of possible realizations of transition from pure noncorrelated to mixed correlated state is analyzed in details. It is concluded that collapse of state is the only possible way of evolution of physical systems in this case.
We study the dynamics of classical and quantum systems undergoing a continuous measurement of position by schematizing the measurement apparatus with an infinite set of harmonic oscillators at finite temperature linearly coupled to the measured system. Selective and nonselective measurement processes are then introduced according to a selection of or an average over all possible initial configurations of the measurement apparatus. At quantum level, the selective processes are described by a nonlinear stochastic Schrödinger equation whose solutions evolve into properly defined coherent states in the case of linear systems. For arbitrary measured systems, classical behavior is always recovered in the macroscopic limit.
The measurement problem in quantum mechanics originates in the inability of the Schrödinger equation to predict definite outcomes of measurements. This is due to the lack of objectivity of the eigenstates of the measuring apparatus. Such objectivity can be achieved if a unified realist conceptual framework can be formulated in terms of wave functions and operators acting on them for both the quantum and classical domains. Such a framework was proposed and an equation for the wave function (13, 14) smoothly interpolates between the quantum and classical limits. The arguments leading to the equation are clarified in this paper, and the theory is developed further. The measurement problem in quantum mechanics is then briefly reviewed and re-examined from the point of view of this theory, and it is shown how the classical limit of the wave function of the measuring apparatus leads to a natural solution of the problem of definite measurement outcomes without the need for either collapse or pragmatic thermodynamic arguments. This is consistent with Bohr's emphasis on the primacy of classical concepts and classical measuring devices. Possible tests of the theory using low-dimensional systems such as quantum dots are indicated.
Abstract In the context of the century-long debate on quantum measurement problem, the current work proposes a model that describes the process of collapse of state by quantum interaction, which resolves the controversies of the framework of quantum mechanics and describes the entire domain of quantum-to-classical world including the weak measurement and partial collapse. ‘Measurement’, being the process of physically interacting with a system in order to extracting information from it, is theorized in the current model by synthesizing the quantum interaction between system and measuring apparatus with the information entropy of such process. The model assumes Schrödinger equation to be the only guiding equation for all physical systems including the measuring apparatus, and does not presuppose ‘superposition principle’, rather derives it theoretically from the formulation. The superposed state is shown to be independent of the choice of measurement operator (observable) or basis states (pointers) of the measuring apparatus. Most interestingly, the current model explains the non-observance of ‘superposition principle’ by classical systems as the classical limit of such quantum description of measurement. Along with solving the quantum measurement problem, the work also explains weak measurement and partial collapse, which can be further extended to investigate such several emerging critical phenomena.
Abstract In the context of the century-long debate on quantum measurement problem, the current work proposes a model that describes the process of collapse of state by quantum interaction, which resolves the controversies of the framework of quantum mechanics and describes the entire domain of quantum-to-classical world including the weak measurement and partial collapse. ‘Measurement’, being the process of physically interacting with a system in order to extracting information from it, is theorized in the current model by synthesizing the quantum interaction between system and measuring apparatus with the information entropy of such process. The model assumes Schrödinger equation to be the only guiding equation for all physical systems including the measuring apparatus, and does not presuppose ‘superposition principle’, rather derives it theoretically from the formulation. The superposed state is shown to be independent of the choice of measurement operator (observable) or basis states (pointers) of the measuring apparatus. Most interestingly, the current model explains the non-observance of ‘superposition principle’ by classical systems as the classical limit of such quantum description of measurement. Along with solving the quantum measurement problem, the work also explains weak measurement and partial collapse, which can be further extended to investigate such several emerging critical phenomena.
A model of quantum measurement is proposed, which aims to describe statistical mechanical aspects of this phenomenon, starting from a purely Hamiltonian formulation. The macroscopic measurement apparatus is modeled as an ideal Bose gas, the order parameter of which, that is, the amplitude of the condensate, is the pointer variable. It is shown that properties of irreversibility and ergodicity breaking, which are inherent in the model apparatus, ensure the appearance of definite results of the measurement, and provide a dynamical realization of wave-function reduction or collapse. The measurement process takes place in two steps: First, the reduction of the state of the tested system occurs over a time of order $\ensuremath{\Elzxh}{/(TN}^{1/4}),$ where T is the temperature of the apparatus, and N is the number of its degrees of freedom. This decoherence process is governed by the apparatus-system interaction. During the second step classical correlations are established between the apparatus and the tested system over the much longer time scale of equilibration of the apparatus. The influence of the parameters of the model on nonideality of the measurement is discussed. Schr\"odinger kittens, EPR setups, and information transfer are analyzed.