Abstract
Some experimental implications of the recent progress on wave function collapse are calculated. Exact results are derived for the center-of-mass wave function collapse caused by random scatterings and applied to a range of specific examples. The results show that recently proposed experiments to measure the GRW effect are likely to fail, since the effect of naturally occurring scatterings is of the same form as the GRW effect but generally much stronger. The same goes for attempts to measure the collapse caused by quantum gravity as suggested by Hawking and others. The results also indicate that macroscopic systems tend to be found in states with ΔxΔp =ħ/\(\sqrt 2\), but microscopic systems in highly tiltedly squeezed states with ΔxΔp »ħ.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
G. C. Ghirardi, A. Rimini and T. Weber,Phys. Rev. D 34, 470 (1986).
H. Everett III,Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 454 (1957).
H. Everett III,The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, B. S. DeWitt and N. Graham, eds. (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1986).
J. A. Wheeler,Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 463 (1957).
L. M. Cooper and D. van Vechten,Am. J. Phys. 37, 1212 (1969).
L. N. Cooper, “Wave function and observer in quantum theory”, inThe Physicist's Conception of Nature, J. Mehra, ed. (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1983).
B. S. DeWitt,Phys. Today 23 (9), 30 (1971).
H. D. Zeh,Found. Phys. 1, 69 (1970).
O. Kübler and H. D. Zeh,Ann. Phys. 76, 405 (1973).
E. Joos,Phys. Rev. D 29, 1626 (1984).
E. Joos and H. D. Zeh,Z. Phys. B 59, 223 (1985).
S. Machida and N. Namiki,Prog. Theor. Phys. 63, 1457, 1833 (1980).
W. H. Zurek,Phys. Rev. D 24, 1516 (1981);26, 1862 (1982).
W. G. Unruh and W. H. Zurek,Phys. Rev. D 40, 1071 (1989).
W. H. Zurek,Phys. Today 44 (10), 36 (1991).
M. Cini,Nuovo Cimento B 73, 27 (1983).
E. Peres,Am. J. Phys. 54, 688 (1986).
P. Pearle,Phys. Rev. A 39, 2277 (1989).
M. H. Partovi,Phys. Lett. A 137, 445 (1989).
M. R. Gallis and G. N. Fleming,Phys. Rev. A 42, 38 (1989).
E. J. Squires,Phys. Lett. A 158, 431 (1991).
A. I. M. Rae,J. Phys. A 23, L57 (1990).
K. Kraus,States, Effects and Operations (Springer, Berlin, 1983).
E. P. Wigner,Phys. Rev. 40, 749 (1932).
Y. S. Kim and M. E. Noz,Phase Space Picture of Quantum Mechanics: Group Theoretical Approach (World Scientific, Singapore, 1991).
J. D. Jackson,Classical Electrodynamics (Wiley, New York, 1975), p.414.
Appl. Ratiat. Isot. 39, 717 (1988).
E. Kolb and M. S. Turner,The Early Universe (Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1990).
J. N. Bahcall and R. K. Ulrich,Rev. Mod. Phys. 60, 297 (1988);59, 505 (1987).
J. Ellis, S. Mohanty and D. V. Nanopoulos,Phys. Lett. B 221, 113 (1989).
S. W. Hawking,Commun. Math. Phys. 87, 395 (1982).
W. H. Zurek, S. Habib and J. P. Paz,Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 1187 (1993).
R. P. Feynman,Statistical Mechanics (Benjamin, Reading, 1972).
Y. Ben-Dov,Found. Phys. 3, 383 (1990).
G. C. Ghirardi, P. Pearle and A. Rimini,Phys. Rev. A 42, 78 (1990).
G. C. Ghirardi, R. Grassi and A. Rimini,Phys. Rev. A 42, 1057 (1990).
D. Dieks,Phys. Lett. A 142, 439 (1989).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tegmark, M. Apparent wave function collapse caused by scattering. Found Phys Lett 6, 571–590 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00662807
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00662807