dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaExperimental motivation and empirical consistency in minimal no-collapse quantum mechanics
| Authors | Maximilian Schlosshauer |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0506199 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0506199 |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.aop.2005.10.004 |
| Journal | Ann. Phys. 321, 112-149 (2006) |
Abstract
We analyze three important experimental domains (SQUIDs, molecular interferometry, and Bose-Einstein condensation) as well as quantum-biophysical studies of the neuronal apparatus to argue that (i) the universal validity of unitary dynamics and the superposition principle has been confirmed far into the mesoscopic and macroscopic realm in all experiments conducted thus far; (ii) all observed "restrictions" can be correctly and completely accounted for by taking into account environmental decoherence effects; (iii) no positive experimental evidence exists for physical state-vector collapse; (iv) the perception of single "outcomes" is likely to be explainable through decoherence effects in the neuronal apparatus. We also discuss recent progress in the understanding of the emergence of quantum probabilities and the objectification of observables. We conclude that it is not only viable, but moreover compelling to regard a minimal no-collapse quantum theory as a leading candidate for a physically motivated and empirically consistent interpretation of quantum mechanics.
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"abstract": "We analyze three important experimental domains (SQUIDs, molecular\ninterferometry, and Bose-Einstein condensation) as well as quantum-biophysical\nstudies of the neuronal apparatus to argue that (i) the universal validity of\nunitary dynamics and the superposition principle has been confirmed far into\nthe mesoscopic and macroscopic realm in all experiments conducted thus far;\n(ii) all observed \"restrictions\" can be correctly and completely accounted for\nby taking into account environmental decoherence effects; (iii) no positive\nexperimental evidence exists for physical state-vector collapse; (iv) the\nperception of single \"outcomes\" is likely to be explainable through decoherence\neffects in the neuronal apparatus. We also discuss recent progress in the\nunderstanding of the emergence of quantum probabilities and the objectification\nof observables. We conclude that it is not only viable, but moreover compelling\nto regard a minimal no-collapse quantum theory as a leading candidate for a\nphysically motivated and empirically consistent interpretation of quantum\nmechanics.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0506199",
"authors": [
"Maximilian Schlosshauer"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1016/j.aop.2005.10.004",
"journal_ref": "Ann. Phys. 321, 112-149 (2006)",
"title": "Experimental motivation and empirical consistency in minimal no-collapse quantum mechanics",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0506199"
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