Wavefunction collapse driven by non-Hermitian disturbance

Abstract In the context of the measurement problem, we propose to model the interaction between a quantum particle and an ‘apparatus’ through a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian term. We simulate the time evolution of a normalized quantum state split into two spin components (via a Stern–Gerlach experiment)...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physics communications 2024-07, Vol.8 (7), p.71001
Main Authors: Romeral, Jorge Martínez, Foa Torres, Luis E F, Roche, Stephan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
meassurement problem
non-hermitian physics
quantum mechanics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract In the context of the measurement problem, we propose to model the interaction between a quantum particle and an ‘apparatus’ through a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian term. We simulate the time evolution of a normalized quantum state split into two spin components (via a Stern–Gerlach experiment) and that undergoes a wavefunction collapse driven by a non-Hermitian Hatano-Nelson Hamiltonian. We further analyze how the strength and other parameters of the non-Hermitian perturbation influence the time-to-collapse of the wave function obtained under a Schödinger-type evolution. We finally discuss a thought experiment where manipulation of the apparatus could challenge standard quantum mechanics predictions.
ISSN:2399-6528
2399-6528
DOI:10.1088/2399-6528/ad5b37