On the Interpretation of Measurement within the Quantum Theory

Cooper, Leon N.; Vechten, D. Van

doi:10.1119/1.1975279

Cited by 33 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This theory has subsequently been generalized. In the second category of theories, perhaps the most radical is the one proposed by Everett, Wheeler, Cooper, DeWitt, and others [2][3][4][5][6][7] between 1957 and 1970, which shows that even if one assumes that the wave function containing the observer evolves causally according to the Schrödinger equation, the observer will subjectively experience wave function collapse. Zeh, Kübler, Joos, Machida, Namiki, Zurek, Unruh, Cini, Peres, Partovi, Gallis, Fleming, Hartle and others [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] have strengthened this position by showing that for macroscopic objects, their inevitable interaction with the environment leads to a dynamic reduction of the density matrix (what is widely known as wave function collapse) and superselection rules.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Apparent wave function collapse caused by scattering

1993

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Some experimental implications of the recent progress on wave function collapse are calculated. Exact results are derived for the center-of-mass wave function collapse caused by random scatterings and applied to a range of specific examples. The results show that recently proposed experiments to measure the GRW effect are likely to fail, since the effect of naturally occurring scatterings is of the same form as the GRW effect but generally much stronger. The same goes for attempts to measure the collapse caused by quantum gravity as suggested by Hawking and others. The results also indicate that macroscopic systems tend to be found in states with ∆x∆p =h/ √ 2, but microscopic systems in highly tiltedly squeezed states with ∆x∆p ≫h.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Apparent wave function collapse caused by scattering

1993

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…But then, clearly, Bohr admits that macroscopic systems, usually described classically, can be described also quantummechanically. This opens up the alley of treating the macroscopic objects on the same footing as the microscopic ones (cf [19], [20], [21]).…”

Section: More On Von Neumann Bohr and Everettmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Unitary Measurement Theory Lead to an Everettian Interpretation?

Herbut¹

2015

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Quantum-mechanical interpretation-related implications of the theory of unitary premeasurement [1] on complete measurement(objectification or collapse included) are investigated in the present article with a view to give an affirmative answer to the question in the title. It is argued that both Bohr's and von Neumann's ideas lead to those of Everett. Hence, the latter can be, in some sense, considered to be a continuation and elaboration of both former approaches. The importance of the idea of relativeness in Everett's theory is emphasized. To free the relative-state theory from its roots both of classicalness and of subjective observation in the argument of this study, the general or unfolded version of Everett's theory is sketched.

show abstract

“…At the center of the controversy stands the so called collapse postulate, according to which the time-evolution of the wavefunction is occasionally not governed by the Schrödinger equation, but described by a discontinuous random jump, a socalled "collapse". This postulate was introduced to explain the apparently random outcomes of certain quantum measurements, but is completely unnecessary according to the Everett interpretation [23][24][25][26][27][28], also known as the "many worlds interpretation". The debate continues about the underlying philosophical and ontological issues (see, e.g., [29,31]), but these are not crucial to the argument in this paper.…”

Section: A Brief Review Of the No Collapse Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the universe in fact contain almost no information?

Tegmark

1996

Found Phys Lett

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

At first sight, an accurate description of the state of the universe appears to require a mind-bogglingly large and perhaps even infinite amount of information, even if we restrict our attention to a small subsystem such as a rabbit. In this paper, it is suggested that most of this information is merely apparent, as seen from our subjective viewpoints, and that the algorithmic information content of the universe as a whole is close to zero. It is argued that if the Schrödinger equation is universally valid, then decoherence together with the standard chaotic behavior of certain non-linear systems will make the universe appear extremely complex to any self-aware subsets that happen to inhabit it now, even if it was in a quite simple state shortly after the big bang. For instance, gravitational instability would amplify the microscopic primordial density fluctuations that are required by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle into quite macroscopic inhomogeneities, forcing the current wavefunction of the universe to contain such Byzantine superpositions as our planet being in many macroscopically different places at once. Since decoherence bars us from experiencing more than one macroscopic reality, we would see seemingly complex constellations of stars etc., even if the initial wavefunction of the universe was perfectly homogeneous and isotropic.

show abstract

On the Interpretation of Measurement within the Quantum Theory

Cited by 33 publications

References 0 publications

Apparent wave function collapse caused by scattering

Apparent wave function collapse caused by scattering

Does Unitary Measurement Theory Lead to an Everettian Interpretation?

Does the universe in fact contain almost no information?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About