Collapse models: main properties and the state of art of the experimental tests

Abstract

Collapse models represent one of the possible solutions to the measurement problem. These models modify the Schrödinger dynamics with non-linear and stochastic terms, which guarantee the localization in space of the wave function avoiding macroscopic superpositions, like that described in the Schrödinger's cat paradox. The Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber (GRW) and the Continuous Spontaneous Localization (CSL) models are the most studied among the collapse models. Here, we briefly summarize the main features of these models and the advances in their experimental investigation.

Submitted to Springer Proceedings in Physics, proceedings of the 684. WE-Heraeus-Seminar "Advances in open systems and fundamental tests of quantum mechanics"