dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaAn Exactly Solvable Model of an Avalanche-Type Measuring Device: Macroscopic Distinctiveness and Wavefunction Collapse
| Authors | R. Merlin |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0507250 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0507250 |
Abstract
A quantum many-body model is presented with features similar to those of certain particle detectors. The energy spectrum contains a single metastable 'ready'-state and macroscopically-distinct 'pointer' states. Measurements do not pose paradoxes or require interventions outside the field theory formalism. Transitions into classical-like states can be triggered by a single particle with help of the thermal bath. Schroedinger cat states are associated with superpositions of inequivalent vacua, thus relating wavefunction collapse to the dynamics of symmetry breaking in phase transformations.
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"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:02:20.684000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:02:20.684000Z",
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"abstract": "A quantum many-body model is presented with features similar to those of\ncertain particle detectors. The energy spectrum contains a single metastable\n\u0027ready\u0027-state and macroscopically-distinct \u0027pointer\u0027 states. Measurements do\nnot pose paradoxes or require interventions outside the field theory formalism.\nTransitions into classical-like states can be triggered by a single particle\nwith help of the thermal bath. Schroedinger cat states are associated with\nsuperpositions of inequivalent vacua, thus relating wavefunction collapse to\nthe dynamics of symmetry breaking in phase transformations.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0507250",
"authors": [
"R. Merlin"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"title": "An Exactly Solvable Model of an Avalanche-Type Measuring Device: Macroscopic Distinctiveness and Wavefunction Collapse",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0507250"
},
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"source": {
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"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
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