Related papers: Decoherence and wave function collapse
A short critical review of the concept of decoherence, its consequences, and its possible implications for the interpretation of quantum theory is given.
Emergent quantum technologies have led to increasing interest in decoherence - the processes that limit the appearance of quantum effects and turn them into classical phenomena. One important cause of decoherence is the interaction of a…
The probability operator is derived from first principles for an equilibrium quantum system. It is also shown that the superposition states collapse into a mixture of states giving the conventional von Neumann trace form for the quantum…
The concept of decoherence is defined, and discussed in a historical context. This is illustrated by some of its essential consequences which may be relevant for the interpretation of quantum theory. Various aspects of the formalism are…
Understanding the quantum measurement problem is closely associated with understanding wave function collapse. Motivated by Breuer's claim that it is impossible for an observer to distinguish all states of a system in which it is contained,…
The possible effect of environment on the efficiency of a quantum algorithm is considered explicitely. It is illustrated through the example of Shor's prime factorization algorithm that this effect may be disastrous. The influence of…
The interaction of a particle with vacuum fluctuations--which theoretically exist even in the complete absence of matter--can lead to observable irreversible decoherence if it were possible to switch on and off the particle charge suddenly.…
The so-called quantum measurement problems are solved from a new perspective. One of the main observations is that the basic entities of our world are {\it particles}, elementary or composite. It follows that each elementary process, hence…
Coherence is a familiar concept in physics: It is the driving force behind wavelike phenomena such as the diffraction of light. Moreover, wave-particle duality implies that all quantum objects can exhibit coherence, and this quantum…
We argue that quantum mechanics makes sense without such controversial postulates as the wave function collapse, the quantum probability rule and the observable postulate. We only need the existence of a wave function as a representation of…
The hydrodynamic formulation of quantum mechanics is used to elucidate the mechanism for decoherence, the suppression of interference effects in a system evolving from an initial coherent superposition. Analysis of time-dependent trajectory…
In this work we investigate the relation between quantum measurements and decoherence, in order to formally express the necessity of the latter for obtaining an informative output from the former. To this aim, referring to the Von Neumann…
This paper critically considers the main interpretations of the wave function and offers an interpretation in which wave function is a consequence of subquantum processes taking place at the level of the organization of matter which…
A brief review is given of the present state of an approach to consistency between basic quantum mechanics and a unique macroscopic reality, with no assumption of branching in the state of the universe. The main new idea consists in the…
A theoretical model of endogenous fluctuations of the norm of the wave function, consistent with the standard quantum theory, is presented. These fluctuations are a subsystem of endogenous quantum fluctuations and describe one of the…
The idea that wave-function collapse is a physical process stems from a misunderstanding of probability and the role it plays in quantum mechanics.
We describe an experimental test of whether particle decay causes wave function collapse. The test uses interference between two well separated, but coherent, sources of vector mesons. The short-lived mesons decay before their wave…
Decoherence is the process by which quantum systems interact and become correlated with their external environments; quantum trajectories are a powerful technique by which decohering systems can be resolved into stochastic evolutions,…
A direct classical analog of quantum decoherence is introduced. Similarities and differences between decoherence dynamics examined quantum mechanically and classically are exposed via a second-order perturbative treatment and via a strong…
It has been proposed that measurement in quantum mechanics results from spontaneous breaking of a symmetry of the measuring apparatus and could be a unitary process that preserves coherence. Viewed in this manner, it is argued,…