Related papers: Towards an Experimental Test of Gravity-induced Qu…
It has been suggested by Diosi and Penrose that the occurrence of quantum state reduction in macroscopic objects is related to a manifestation of gravitational effects in quantum mechanics. Although within Penrose's framework the dynamics…
After providing an extensive overview of the conceptual elements -- such as Einstein's `hole argument' -- that underpin Penrose's proposal for gravitationally induced quantum state reduction, the proposal is constructively criticised.…
A phenomenological model for the calculation of reduction probabilities of a superposition of several states is presented. The approach bases only the idea that quantum state reduction has its origin in a mutual physical interaction between…
It is pointed out that the Diosi-Penrose ansatz for gravity-induced quantum state reduction can be tested by observing oscillations in the flavor ratios of neutrinos originated at cosmological distances. Since such a test would be almost…
Experimental progress with meso- and macroscopic quantum states (i.e., general Schrodinger-cat states) was recently accompanied by theoretical proposals on how to measure the merit of these efforts. So far, experiment and theory were…
Conventionally, experiments probing the quantum nature of gravity were thought to be prohibitive due to the extremely high energy scales involved. However, recent and rapid advances at the intersection of quantum information and gravity,…
The quantum measurement problem and various unsuccessful attempts to resolve it are reviewed. A suggestion by Diosi and Penrose for the half life of the quantum superposition of two Newtonian gravitational fields is generalized to an…
During the past decade, the experimental development of being able to create ever larger and heavier quantum superpositions has brought the discussion of the connection between microscopic quantum mechanics and macroscopic classical physics…
A theory of quantum measurement was introduced some time ago that was based on the notion of the so-called separation status. This separation status had a spatial, local character, so that the theory worked only in special cases.…
The Schr\"odinger equation predicts the validity of the superposition principle at any scale, yet we do not experience cats being in a superposition of "dead" and "alive" in our everyday lives. Modifications to quantum theory at the…
A misunderstanding of entangled states has spawned decades of concern about quantum measurements and a plethora of quantum interpretations. The "measurement state" or "Schrodinger's cat state" of a superposed quantum system and its detector…
Models of quantum gravity imply a fundamental revision of our description of position and momentum that manifests in modifications of the canonical commutation relations. Experimental tests of such modifications remain an outstanding…
Although quantum mechanics is a mature theory, fundamental problems discussed during its time of foundation have remained with us to this day. These problems are centered on the problematic relation between the quantum and classical worlds.…
A theory of quantum state reduction is advanced. It is based on two principles: (1) Gauge decomposition; (2) Maximum entropy. To wit: (1) The reduction decomposition of a state vector is the Schmidt decomposition with respect to the states…
We propose a measure for the "size" of a Schroedinger cat state, i.e. a quantum superposition of two many-body states with (supposedly) macroscopically distinct properties, by counting how many single-particle operations are needed to map…
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the generation of superposition of coherent states with opposite phases, the so-called photonic Schrodinger-cat states. These experiments are very challenging and so far, cats…
The inability of Schrodinger's unitary time evolution to describe measurement of a quantum state remains a central foundational problem. It was recently suggested that the unitarity of Schrodinger dynamics can be spontaneously broken,…
We discuss aspects of gravitational modifications of Schrodinger dynamics proposed by Diosi and Penrose. We consider first the Diosi-Penrose criterion for gravitationally induced state vector reduction, and compute the reduction time…
There exists a large number of experimental and theoretical results supporting the picture of "macroscopic qubits" implemented, for instance, by Rydberg atoms, Josephson junctions or Bose-Einstein condensates - the systems which should…
The apparent conflict between general relativity and quantum mechanics remains one of the unresolved mysteries of the physical world. According to recent theories, this conflict results in gravity-induced quantum state reduction of…