Related papers: Quantum mechanics without measurements
We study the dynamics of classical and quantum systems undergoing a continuous measurement of position by schematizing the measurement apparatus with an infinite set of harmonic oscillators at finite temperature linearly coupled to the…
We propose that the Schrodinger equation results from applying the classical wave equation to describe the physical system in which subatomic particles play random motion, thereby leading to quantum mechanics. The physical reality described…
A pedagogical derivation of statistical mechanics from quantum mechanics is provided, by means of open quantum systems. Besides, a new definition of Boltzmann entropy for a quantum closed system is also given to count microstates in a way…
It is shown that the classical book by von Neumann proposing dynamics of measured systems with "reduction (or collapse) of system's wave packet" contains also hints how to avoid this discontinuity in time evolution of the measured system…
In this article we propose a solution to the measurement problem in quantum mechanics. We point out that the measurement problem can be traced to an a priori notion of classicality in the formulation of quantum mechanics. If this notion of…
We briefly review a number of major features of the approach to quantum measurement theory based on environment-induced decoherence of the measuring apparatus, and summarize our observations in the form of a couple of general principles…
The standard model of the quantum theory of measurement is based on an interaction Hamiltonian in which the observable-to-be-measured is multiplied with some observable of a probe system. This simple Ansatz has proved extremely fruitful in…
We develop a new formalism for constructing probabilities associated to the causal ordering of events in quantum theory, where by an event we mean the emergence of a measurement record on a detector. We start with constructing probabilities…
Since its discovery, quantum theory has proven to be one of the most precise theories ever made. Measurement processes, however, do not seem to be governed by the unitary law of quantum mechanics, and one can ask if the theory is complete.…
Quantum mechanics started out as a theory to describe the smallest scales of energy in Nature. After a hundred years of development it is now routinely employed to describe, among others, quantum computers with thousands of qubits. This…
The outcomes of a series of measurements, made on a quantum system, form a sequence of random events which occur in a particular order. The system, together with a meter or meters, can be seen as following the paths of a stochastic network…
Irreversibility is often considered to characterize measurements in quantum mechanics. Fundamental problems with this characterization are addressed. First, whether a measurement is made in quantum mechanics is an arbitrary decision on the…
The tomographic invertable map of the Wigner function onto the positive probability distribution function is studied. Alternatives to the Schr\"odinger evolution equation and to the energy level equation written for the positive probability…
"Ever since the advent of modern quantum mechanics in the late 1920's, the idea has been prevalent that the classical laws of probability cease, in some sense, to be valid in the new theory. [...] The primary object of this presentation is…
The only evidence we have for a discrete reality comes from quantum measurements; without invoking these measurements, quantum theory describes continuous entities. This seeming contradiction can be resolved via analysis that treats…
We assume that particles are point-like objects even when not observed. We report on the consequences of our assumption within the realm of quantum theory. An important consequence is the necessity of vacuum fields to account for particle…
In our quantum mechanics courses, measurement is usually taught in passing, as an ad-hoc procedure involving the ugly collapse of the wave function. No wonder we search for more satisfying alternatives to the Copenhagen interpretation. But…
We introduce the concept of a "classical observable" as an operator with vanishingly small quantum fluctuations on a set of density matrices. It is shown how to construct them for a time evolved pure state. The study of classical…
Three problems stand in the way of deriving classical theories from quantum mechanics: those of realist interpretation, of classical properties and of quantum measurement. Recently, we have identified some tacit assumptions that lie at the…
Measurement outcomes of a quantum state can be genuinely random (unpredictable) according to the basic laws of quantum mechanics. The Heisenberg-Robertson uncertainty relation puts constrains on the accuracy of two noncommuting observables.…