Decoherence and Probability
Quantum Physics
2025-10-22 v3 History and Philosophy of Physics
Abstract
One cannot justifiably presuppose the physical salience of structures derived via decoherence theory based upon an entirely uninterpreted use of the quantum formalism. Non-probabilistic accounts of the emergence of probability via decoherence are unconvincing. An alternative account of the emergence of probability involves the combination of a partially interpreted decoherence model and an averaging of observables with respect to a positive-definite quasi-probability function and neglect of terms . Our analysis delimits the context in which the combination of decoherence and a semi-classical averaging allows us to recover a classical probability model within an emergent coarse-grained description.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2410.01317,
title = {Decoherence and Probability},
author = {Richard Dawid and Karim P. Y. Thébault},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2410.01317},
year = {2025}
}