The Quantum Formalism and the GRW Formalism

The Ghirardi–Rimini–Weber (GRW) theory of spontaneous wave function collapse is known to provide a quantum theory without observers, in fact two different ones by using either the matter density ontology (GRWm) or the flash ontology (GRWf). Both theories are known to make predictions different from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of statistical physics 2012-10, Vol.149 (1), p.142-201
Main Authors: Goldstein, Sheldon, Tumulka, Roderich, Zanghì, Nino
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Mathematical and Computational Physics
Physical Chemistry
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Quantum Physics
Quantum theory
Statistical Physics and Dynamical Systems
Theoretical
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Summary:The Ghirardi–Rimini–Weber (GRW) theory of spontaneous wave function collapse is known to provide a quantum theory without observers, in fact two different ones by using either the matter density ontology (GRWm) or the flash ontology (GRWf). Both theories are known to make predictions different from those of quantum mechanics, but the difference is so small that no decisive experiment can as yet be performed. While some testable deviations from quantum mechanics have long been known, we provide here something that has until now been missing: a formalism that succinctly summarizes the empirical predictions of GRWm and GRWf. We call it the GRW formalism. Its structure is similar to that of the quantum formalism but involves different operators. In other words, we establish the validity of a general algorithm for directly computing the testable predictions of GRWm and GRWf. We further show that some well-defined quantities cannot be measured in a GRWm or GRWf world.
ISSN:0022-4715
1572-9613
DOI:10.1007/s10955-012-0587-6