Related papers: Source Field Effects and Wave Function Collapse
We propose that the mechanism responsible for the ``collapse of the wave function" (or "decoherence" in its broadest meaning) in quantum mechanics is the nonlinearities already present in the theory via nonabelian gauge interactions. Unlike…
We consider the general problem of charged particle motion in a strong electromagnetic field of arbitrary configuration and find a universal behaviour: for sufficiently high field strengths, the radiation losses lead to a general tendency…
Some versions of quantum theory treat wave function collapse as a fundamental physical phenomenon to be described by explicit laws. One motivation is to find a consistent unification of quantum theory and gravity, in which collapse prevents…
I argue that there is a straightforward way to understand the occurrence of wavefunction collapses or 'quantum events' in relational approaches to quantum mechanics: we necessarily encounter a discontinuity in our description when a system…
We investigate radiation-reaction effects for a charged scalar particle accelerated by an external potential realized as a space-dependent mass term in quantum electrodynamics. In particular, we calculate the position shift of the…
In high-intensity laser-plasma interactions, particles can lose a substantial fraction of their energy by emitting radiation. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we study the impact of radiation reaction on the dynamics of an underdense…
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…
Traditional textbook explanations of the Compton effect treat the photon electron interaction as a particle collision. This explanation is a pedagogical disaster, implying that sometimes interactions are particle-like whereas quantum…
Radiation reaction (but, more generally, fluctuations and dissipation) occurs when a system interacts with a heat bath, a particular case being the interaction of an electron with the radiation field. We have developed a general theory for…
The conceptual problems in quantum mechanics -- related to the collapse of the wave function, the particle-wave duality, the meaning of measurement -- arise from the need to ascribe particle character to the wave function. As will be shown,…
In quantum theory particles are represented as wave packets. Shock wave analysis of quantum equations of motion shows that wave function representation in general and wave packet description in particular contains discontinuities due to a…
A point charge accelerating under the influence of an external force emits electromagnetic radiation that reduces the increase in its mechanical energy. This causes a reduction in the particle's acceleration. We derive the decrease in…
Darmstadt $\nu$ oscillations in decay of radioactive ion can only come from initial state wave function. Causality forbids any influence on transition probability by detection of $\nu$ or final state interference after decay. Energy-time…
As it is known a model of a charged particle with finite size is a good tool to consider the effects of self- action and backreaction, caused by electromagnetic radiation. In this work the "size" of a charged particle is induced by its…
Time-continuous wavefunction collapse mechanisms n o t restricted to markovian approximation have been found only a few years ago, and have left many issues open. The results apply formally to the standard relativistic…
It is well-known that quantum mechanics admits two distinct evolutions: the unitary evolution, which is deterministic and well described by the Schr\"{o}dinger equation, and the collapse of the wave function, which is probablistic,…
It is widely known that `collapse of the wave function' on a quantum system A may be brought about by an interaction with another quantum system B. We will prove that this is not just a possible, but a necessary consequence of information…
It is shown that within a quantum system, the wave field has a (potential) energy content that can be exchanged with quantum particles. Energy conservation in quantum systems holds if potential energy is correctly taken to be a field…
Equation of motion of an uncharged arbitrarily shaped dust particle under the effects of (stellar) electromagnetic radiation and thermal emission is derived. The resulting relativistically covariant equation of motion is expressed in terms…
It has been known for some time that the classical concept of radiation is not covariant: for uniformly accelerated particles, it depends on the state of motion of the observer relative to the particle emitting it. Moreover, recent…