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Superselection rules and fluctuations in the Many-Hilbert-Spaces approach to quantum measurement

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Foundations of Physics Letters

Abstract

The interaction between a macroscopic detector and a quantum system is studied by means of a simple model in the context of the Many-Hilbert-Spaces approach, and it is shown that statistical fluctuations play a determinant role in the description of the detector. An order parameter is introduced, in terms of which aquantitative definition of wave-function collapse can be given. The meaning of the superselection charges of the Many-Hilbert-Spaces is also clarified, and an inequivalent representation is given in the limit of infinite number of elementary constituents of the detector. Finally, this approach is compared to other proposals in the literature.

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Additional information

1. Supported by the Commission of the European Communities under the Project “Scientific Training Program in Japan (1988).”

2. Present and permanent address: Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Bari, I-70126 Bari, Italy.

3. In the following, to simplify the notation, we shall drop the hat on the position operatorsr andr n .

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Namiki, M., Pascazio, S. Superselection rules and fluctuations in the Many-Hilbert-Spaces approach to quantum measurement. Found Phys Lett 4, 203–216 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00665753

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00665753

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