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{{for|the constraint-solving algorithm| Wave function collapse (algorithm)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
[[File:Wave-particle duality.gif|thumb|Particle impacts during a [[double-slit experiment]]. The total [[interference pattern]] represents the original [[wave function]], while each particle impact represents an individual wave function collapse.]]
{{Quantum mechanics}}
In various [[Interpretations of quantum mechanics|interpretations]] of [[quantum mechanics]], '''wave function collapse''', also called '''reduction of the state vector''',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Penrose |first=Roger |date=May 1996 |title=On Gravity's role in Quantum State Reduction |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/BF02105068 |journal=General Relativity and Gravitation |language=en |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=581–600 |doi=10.1007/BF02105068 |issn=0001-7701}}</ref> occurs when a [[wave function]]—initially in a [[quantum superposition|superposition]] of several [[eigenstates]]—reduces to a single eigenstate due to [[Fundamental interaction|interaction]] with the external world. This interaction is called an [[Observation (physics)|''observation'']] and is the essence of a [[measurement in quantum mechanics]], which connects the wave function with classical [[observable]]s such as [[position (vector)|position]] and [[momentum]]. Collapse is one of the two processes by which [[quantum system]]s evolve in time; the other is the continuous evolution governed by the [[Schrödinger equation]].<ref name="Grundlagen">
{{cite book
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