Year: 2005
Type: preprint
Abstract: It is widely known that `collapse of the wave function' on a quantum system A may be brought about by an interaction with another quantum system B. We will prove that this is not just a possible, but a necessary consequence of information transfer from A to B. We generalize this in order to explain why coherences are normally not observed in macroscopic quantum systems. Finally, we provide a quantitative insight into the balance between information gain and state disturbance. We define the quality of an information transfer. For all information transfers of a certain quality, we find a minimum amount of state collapse. Along the way, we obtain generalizations of the Joint Measurement Theorem and of the Heisenberg Principle.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Janssens, Bas
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1662567767