ORALS

Orthodox Quantum Mechanics (OQM) deals with two kinds of processes: spontaneous processes, governed by the Schrödinger equation; and measurement processes, ruled by the Projection Postulate. In spontaneous processes the state vector of the system evolves in a continuous way according to a deterministic law, the superposition principle applies, actions are local and conservation laws are strictly valid. By contrast, in measurement processes the state vector may collapse in a discontinuous way, with probabilities not ruled by deterministic laws, superpositions break down, a kind of action-at-a-distance results and conservation laws are not strictly valid but have only statistical sense. The inclusion in OQM of two laws irreducible to one another is at the very heart of the quantum measurement problem.[1] It is agreed that measurements in quantum mechanics require either the intervention of an observer, or the interaction of the quantum system with a measuring device (according to some authors every classical object), which introduces an unpredictable and uncontrollable perturbation of the spontaneous, natural evolution of the state of the system. Transitions between stationary states (TBSS) induced by a time-dependent perturbation involve measurements [2,3]. Hence a similar (not identical) measurement problem to the traditional just described arises [3]; in particular, in both cases the Schrödinger evolution breaks down. If every photon absorbed or emitted by an atom involves one of such TBSS, there should be billions of observers and/or measuring devices at every small corner of the universe where these processes take place. Nevertheless, there is no evidence of their existence other than transitions between stationary states do occur. While there is ample reference to the traditional measurement problem, measurements related to TBSS are conspicuously absent from the specialized literature on the subject, with few exceptions. We face this conundrum by assuming that measurements related to TBSS are fake measurement. By contrast, TBSS are real for they are not the result of fake measurement, but of the tendency of quantum systems to jump to preferential states. These ideas are fundamental to our Spontaneous Projection Approach [4]. In the present paper we sum up this approach and illustrate how it works when applied to two paradigmatic cases: the spontaneous decay of a radioactive element and the ideal measurement scheme of quantum mechanics. A method to test our approach by experiment is suggested.

References:
[1] M.E. Burgos, Foundations of Physics 28 (1998) 1323-1346.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018826910348
[2] P.A.M. Dirac, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1930), 46–47 and 172–173.
[3] M.E. Burgos, in: P. Bracken, Ed., Quantum Mechanics, INTECH, Croatia (2020).
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91810
[4] M.E. Burgos, Journal of Modern Physics 9 (2018) 1697-1711.
https://doi.org/10.4236/jmp.2018.98106