English

Repeatedly readable state, spontaneous collapse, and quantum/classical boundary

Quantum Physics 2022-04-26 v1

Abstract

We propose a model to identify the quantum/classical boundary. The model introduces a spontaneous collapse of state superposition: ddtρij=i[H,ρ]ijρij/τij\frac{d}{dt} \rho_{ij} =-\frac{i}{\hbar}[H,\rho]_{ij}-\rho_{ij}/\tau_{ij}. Different from other collapse models, the collapsing scale τij\tau_{ij} here does not contain a universal parameter, but is specified by the two states i| i\rangle and j | j\rangle: If each state is {\em in principle} repeatedly readable (typically by a QND measurement), then τij\tau_{ij} is the {\em potentially} needed measuring time to discriminate the two states, and the collapse occurs spontaneously {\em without} any actual monitoring. Otherwise, τij=\tau_{ij}=\infty, which means no collapse and everlasting superposition. This happens if one state is not repeatedly readable, or if the two states cannot possibly be discriminated in a particular circumstance (for example in the Rabi oscillation). Detailed analysis shows that for a "trapped Schr{\"o}dinger's cat", the superposition of here|{\rm here} \rangle and there| {\rm there} \rangle is forbidden if ED4πcE D \gg 4\pi \hbar c, and allowed if ED4πcE D \le 4\pi \hbar c, where DD is the trap separation and E E is the energy gap, which can be estimated with Mv2 M v^2. The model also constrains a "free Schr{\"o}dinger's cat" to display double-slit interference if pθD8p\theta D\ge 8\hbar, where p=Mvp= Mv, θ\theta is the angle spanned by the two trajectories, and DD is the slit separation. In contrast, this model sets no limit on the coherent length of massless photon, thus the arm of a Michelson interferometer can be arbitrarily long. The spontaneous collapse which we propose can occur for an isolated system, and parallels the decoherence induced by interaction with environment.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2204.11656,
  title  = {Repeatedly readable state, spontaneous collapse, and quantum/classical boundary},
  author = {Xiao-Fu Peng and Yu-Hang Luo and Jiang Zhu and Bang-Hui Hua and Xue-Nan Chen and Dan-Dan Lian and Zi-Wei Chen and Xiang-Song Chen},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2204.11656},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

18 pages, 0 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-24T10:57:47.812Z