Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: By comparing Schrödinger's cat with its classical counterpart, I show that a quantum superposition should be understood as an expectation over possible eigenstates weighted by wave-like probabilities. Upon the occurrence of a certain event, the quantum system is randomly realized into one of the possible eigenstates due to its intrinsic stochasticity. While the randomness of a single realization cannot be controlled or predicted, the overall distribution can be regulated via experimental setup and converges as the number of events increases. A measurement is indeed an activity employing a certain event to convert a quantum effect into a macroscopic outcome. Consequently, the puzzling concepts of wavefunction collapse, many worlds, and decoherence become unnecessary for understanding quantum superposition. This expectation-realization interpretation, which integrates probability theory with wave mechanics, can also be extended to quantum pathways. Moreover, it reframes tests of Bell's inequalities as validating the wave-like probability nature of quantum mechanics, with no need to invoke the mysterious notions of quantum non-locality and "spooky action at a distance".
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Wang, Yanting
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4416024007
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