Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: One of the major remaining questions concerning foundations of the quantum mechanical theory is how superpositions are measured such that definite outcomes are obtained. Here a resolution to that issue is proposed. It is shown how to obtain state vectors associated with measurements on the separated subystems of an entangled state, revealing how a single wavefunction encodes a special kind of set of statistical measurement outcomes. The result explains why measurements on the subsystems give definite outcomes and why measurements on one subsystem are correlated with those on the other. It is therefore concluded that the theory of quantum mechanics, without nonlinearities or \emph{ad hoc} assertions, can explain both the mechanism of state vector collapse and the reason for the paradoxical nonlocal correlations between separated subsystems. The theory also explains why nonlocal correlations do not require any kind of interaction between the subsystems.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Scholes, Grgeory D.
Institution: Princeton University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7161958398