Wave function collapse: Difference between revisions

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While standard quantum mechanics postulates wave function collapse to connect quantum to classical models, some extension theories propose physical processes that cause collapse. The in depth study of [[quantum decoherence]] has proposed that collapse is related to the interaction of a quantum system with its environment.

Historically, [[Werner Heisenberg]] was the first to use the idea of wave function reduction to explain quantum measurement.<ref>[[Werner Heisenberg|Heisenberg, W.]] (1927). Über den anschaulichen Inhalt der quantentheoretischen Kinematik und Mechanik, ''Z. Phys.'' '''43''': 172–198. Translation as [https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19840008978.pdf "The actual content of quantum theoretical kinematics and mechanics"].</ref><ref name=":0C. Kiefer-2002" />

==Mathematical description==

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==History==

The concept of wavefunction collapse was introduced by [[Werner Heisenberg]] in his 1927 paper on the [[uncertainty principle]], "Über den anschaulichen Inhalt der quantentheoretischen Kinematik und Mechanik", and incorporated into the [[mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics]] by [[John von Neumann]], in his 1932 treatise ''Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik''.<ref name=":0C. Kiefer-2002">{{cite arXiv |author=C. Kiefer |year=2002 |title=On the interpretation of quantum theory—from Copenhagen to the present day |eprint=quant-ph/0210152 }}</ref> Heisenberg did not try to specify exactly what the collapse of the wavefunction meant. However, he emphasized that it should not be understood as a physical process.<ref>{{cite journal |author=G. Jaeger |year=2017 |title="Wave-Packet Reduction" and the Quantum Character of the Actualization of Potentia |journal=Entropy |volume=19 |issue=10 |pages=13

|doi=10.3390/e19100513|bibcode=2017Entrp..19..513J |doi-access=free |hdl=2144/41814 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Niels Bohr never mentions wave function collapse in his published work, but he repeatedly cautioned that we must give up a "pictorial representation". Despite the differences between Bohr and Heisenberg, their views are often grouped together as the "Copenhagen interpretation", of which wave function collapse is regarded as a key feature.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Niels Bohr on the wave function and the classical/quantum divide |author=Henrik Zinkernagel |year=2016 |doi=10.1016/j.shpsb.2015.11.001 |journal=Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics |volume=53 |pages=9–19 |arxiv = 1603.00353|bibcode=2016SHPMP..53....9Z |s2cid=18890207 |quote=Among Bohr scholars it is common to assert that Bohr never mentions the wave function collapse (see e.g. Howard, 2004 and Faye, 2008). It is true that in Bohr’s published writings, he does not discuss the status or existence of this standard component in the popular image of the Copenhagen interpretation. }}</ref>