Breaking quantum linearity: constraints from human perception and cosmological implications

Abstract

Resolving the tension between quantum superpositions and the uniqueness of the classical world is a major open problem. One possibility, which is extensively explored both theoretically and experimentally, is that quantum linearity breaks above a given scale. Theoretically, this possibility is predicted by collapse models. They provide quantitative information on where violations of the superposition principle become manifest. Here we show that the lower bound on the collapse parameter lambda, coming from the analysis of the human visual process, is ~ 7 +/- 2 orders of magnitude stronger than the original bound, in agreement with more recent analysis. This implies that the collapse becomes effective with systems containing ~ 10^4 - 10^5 nucleons, and thus falls within the range of testability with present-day technology. We also compare the spectrum of the collapsing field with those of known cosmological fields, showing that a typical cosmological random field can yield an efficient wave function collapse.

13 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures

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• Quantum Discord of Cosmic Inflation: Can we Show that CMB Anisotropies are of Quantum-Mechanical Origin?
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• Bounds on collapse models from cold-atom experiments
• Observational constraints on quantum decoherence during inflation
• LISA pathfinder appreciably constrains collapse models
• Colored and Dissipative Continuous Spontaneous Localization model and Bounds from Matter-Wave Interferometry
• Exact solution for a non-Markovian dissipative quantum dynamics
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• Dissipative collapse models with non-white noises
• Cosmic decoherence: primordial power spectra and non-Gaussianities
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• Multilayer test masses to enhance the collapse noise
• Nanomechanical test of quantum linearity
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• Tests of Quantum Gravity near Measurement Events
• Stronger Tests of the Collapse Locality Loophole in Bell Experiments
• Testing spontaneous wavefunction collapse with quantum electromechanics
• Semi-quantum Gravity and Testing Gravitational Bell Non-locality
• Decoherence: From Interpretation to Experiment
• Collapse and Measures of Consciousness
• Exploring the Effects of Mass Dependence in Spontaneous Collapse Models
• Quantum Physics in Space