Abstract
The collapse models were proposed more than 30 years ago to save the poor Schrödinger’s cat from its zombie-fate. In these models the standard Schrödinger equation is modified with the introduction of non-linear and stochastic terms, naturally collapsing the wave function in space. Ghirardi was pioneering these models, which predict deviations from the standard Quantum Mechanics. One of these predictions is the emission of a “spontaneous radiation”, which we explored to set the most stringent limits on the collapse models parameters in a broad range. This allowed us paraphrasing the title of his famous book, to sneak a look at Ghirardi’s cards.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
For reviews and references, see Bassi, A.; Ghirardi, G. C. Dynamical reduction models. Phys. Rep. 2003, 379, 257; Pearle, P. Collapse models Open Systems and Measurements in Relativistic Quantum Field Theory. Lecture Notes in Physics 1999, vol 526 ed H-P. Breuer and F. Petruccione (Berlin: Springer); Diósi, L. Models For Universal Reduction Of Macroscopic Quantum Fluctuations. Phys. Rev. A 1989, 40, 1165; Bassi, A. Collapse models: analysis of the free particle dynamics. Available online: https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0410222.pdf (accessed on 25 March 2009); Adler, S. L. Quantum Theory as an Emergent Phenomenon. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 2004 ch 6. Alternative choices of the correlation function are discussed in Weber, T. Quantum mechanics with spontaneous localization revisited. Nuovo Cimento B 1991106, 1111.
Fu, Q. Spontaneous radiation of free electrons in a nonrelativistic collapse model. Phys. Rev. A 1997, 56, 1806.
Curceanu, C.; Hiesmayr, B.C.; Piscicchia, K. X-rays help to unfuzzy the concept of measurement. J. Adv. Phys. 2015, 4, 263–266.
K. Piscicchia et al., Entropy 2017, 19(7), 319.
Ghirardi, G.; Rimini, A.; Weber, T. Unified dynamics for microscopic and macroscopic systems. Phys. Rev. D 1986, 34, 470.
Pearle, P. Combining stochastic dynamical state-vector reduction with spontaneous localization. Phys. Rev. A 1989, 39, 2277.
Ghirardi, G.C.; Pearle, P.; Rimini, A. Markov processes in Hilbert space and continuous spontaneous localization of systems of identical particles. Phys. Rev. A 1990, 42, 78.
Adler, S.L. Lower and Upper Bounds on CSL Parameters from Latent Image Formation and IGM Heating. J. Phys. A 2007, 40, 2935–2958.
Adler, S.L.; Ramazanoglu, F.M. Photon emission rate from atomic systems in the CSL model. J. Phys. A 2007, 40, 13395–13406.
Adler, S.L.; Bassi, A.; Donadi, S. On spontaneous photon emission in collapse models. J. Phys. A 2013, 46, 245304.
Bassi A.; Donadi S. Spontaneous photon emission from a non-relativistic free charged particle in collapse models: A case study. Phys. Lett. A 2014, 378, 761.
Donadi, S.; Bassi, A.; Deckert, D.-A. On the spontaneous emission of electromagnetic radiation in the CSL model. Ann. Phys. 2014, 340, 70–86.
Miley, H.S.; Avignone, F.T.; Brodzinski, R.L., III.; Collar, J.I.; Reeves, J.H. Suggestive evidence for the two neutrino double beta decay of Ge-76. Phys. Rev. Lett. 1990, 65, 3092.
Laloë, F.; Mullin, W.J.; Pearle, P. Heating of trapped ultracold atoms by collapse dynamics. Phys. Rev. A 2014, 90, 52119.
Collett, B.; Pearle, P.; Avignone, F.; Nussinov, S. Constraint on collapse models by limit on spontaneous x-ray emission in Ge. Found. Phys. 1995, 25, 1399–1412.
Diósi, L. Models for universal reduction of macroscopic quantum fluctuations. Phys. Rev. A 1989, 40, 11651174.
Aalseth, C.E.; Avignone, F.T., III; Brodzinski, R.L.; Collar, J.I.; Garcia, E.; González, D.; Hasenbalg, F.; Hensley, W.K.; Kirpichnikov, I.V.; Klimenko, A.A.; et al. Neutrinoless double-beta decay of Ge-76: First results from the International Germanium Experiment (IGEX) with six isotopically enriched detectors. IGEX collab. Phys. Rev. C 1999, 59, 2108.
Morales, A.; Aalseth, C. E.; Avignone, F. T.; Brodzinski, R. L., III; Cebrian, S.; Garcia, E.; Irastorza, I. G.; Kirpichnikov, I. V.; Klimenko, A. A.; Miley, H. S.; et al. Improved constraints on WIMPs from the international Germanium experiment IGEX. IGEX collab. Phys. Lett. B 2002, 532, 8-14.
Toroš, M.; Bassi, A. Available online: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1601.03672.pdf (accessed on 31 May 2017).
Carlesso, M.; Bassi, A.; Falferi, P.; Vinante, A. Experimental bounds on collapse models from gravitational wave detectors. Phys. Rev. D 2016, 94, 124036.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the support of the Centro Fermi—Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche “Enrico Fermi” (Open Problems in Quantum Mechanics project), EU COST Action CA 15220 and EU FET project TEQ (grant agreement 766900). Furthermore, these studies were made possible by the support of the Foundational Questions Institute, FOXi.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Piscicchia, K., Del Grande, R., Laubenstein, M., Curceanu, C. (2021). Sneaking a Look at Ghirardi’s Cards: Collapse Models Mapped with the Spontaneous Radiation. In: Allori, V., Bassi, A., Dürr, D., Zanghi, N. (eds) Do Wave Functions Jump? . Fundamental Theories of Physics, vol 198. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46777-7_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46777-7_28
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-46776-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-46777-7
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)