Three consequences of decompositional consistency
arXiv:0906.2306
Abstract
Decompositions of the world into systems have typically been regarded as arbitrary extra-theoretical assumptions in discussions of quantum measurement. One can instead regard decompositions as part of the theory, and ask what conditions they must satisfy for self-consistency. It is shown that self-consistent decompositions that specify a measurement context (i.e. von Neumann decompositions) must represent apparatus as containing internal decohering environments and as having known pointer components and ready states. Under these circumstances a von Neumann decomposition can function as a component of the ready state of the observer. Minimal no-collapse quantum mechanics supplemented by these consistency requirements on von Neumann decompositions avoids the measurement problem.
References in corpus (5)
- Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical
- Decoherence, the measurement problem, and interpretations of quantum mechanics
- The importance of quantum decoherence in brain processes
- Decoherence, Einselection, and the Existential Interpretation (the Rough Guide)
- Experimental motivation and empirical consistency in minimal no-collapse quantum mechanics