acta physica slovaca

Acta Physica Slovaca 60, No.6, 613-716 (2010) (104 pages)

SURVEY OF AN APPROACH TO QUANTUM MEASUREMENT, CLASSICAL PROPERTIES AND REALIST INTERPRETATION PROBLEMS

Petr Hájíček1 and Jiří Tolar2
    1Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
    2Department of Physics, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Břehová 7, CZ-115 19 Prague, Czech Republic


Full text: ::pdf :: (Received 15 February 2011, accepted 16 February 2011)

Abstract: The paper gives a systematic review of the basic ideas of non-relativistic quantum mechanics including all improvements that result from previous work of the authors. The aim is to show on the one hand that the new theory is self-consistent and that it reproduces all measurable predictions of standard quantum mechanics. On the other hand, it contains three most important improvements:

1. A new realist interpretation of quantum mechanics brings new view that all properties that are uniquely determined by preparations can be viewed as objective. These properties are then sufficient to justify the notion of a quantum object.

2. Classical systems are defined as macroscopic quantum objects in states close to maximum entropy. For classical mechanics, new states of such kind are introduced, the socalled maximum-entropy packets, and shown to approximate classical dynamics better than Gaussian wave packets.

3. A new solution of quantum measurement problem is proposed for measurements that are performed on microsystems. In this proposal, first it is assumed that readings of registration apparatuses are always signals from detectors. Second, an application of the cluster separability principle leads to a locality requirement on observables and to the key notion of separation status.

The separation status of a microsystem is shown to change in preparation and registration processes. This gives preparation and registration new meaning and enhances the importance of these notions. Changes of separation status are alterations of kinematic description rather than some parts of dynamical evolutions and thus more radical than âcollapse of the wave functional. Standard quantum mechanics does not provide any information of how separation status changes run, hence new rules must be formulated. To provide an example, the Beltrametti-Cassinelli-Lahti model of measurement is modified by a new rule and shown then to satisfy both the probability-reproducibility and the objectification requirements.

DOI: 10.2478/v10155-010-0006-y

PACS: 03.65.Ta, 03.65.-w, 03.65.Ca
Keywords: Quantum mechanics, Quantum object, Classical properties, Quantum measurement, Beltrametti-Cassinelli-Lahti model, Cluster separability, Separation status
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