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Symmetries in Science X pp 337–344Cite as

Temporal Behavior of Quantum Systems and Quantum Zeno Effect

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Abstract

The temporal behavior of an unstable system is analyzed quantum mechanically and compared to the exponential decay law. The general mathematical features of the quantum evolution, yielding a quadratic region at short times and a power law at long times, are briefly reviewed.

The consequences of the short-time quadratic evolution are curious: By performing many measurements in rapid succession on a quantum system, in order to check whether it is still in its initial state, one can hinder its evolution. This phenomenon is known as the quantum Zeno effect and is discussed in detail. In this respect, a specific example involving neutron spin is considered. Finally, we focus our attention on some interesting features of the evolution law.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Bari and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari, I-70126, Bari, Italy

    Saverio Pascazio

  2. Department of Physics, Waseda University, Tokyo 169, Japan

    Hiromichi Nakazato & Mikio Namiki

Authors
  1. Saverio Pascazio
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  2. Hiromichi Nakazato
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  3. Mikio Namiki
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, USA

    Bruno Gruber

  2. Technische Universität Graz, Graz, Austria

    Michael Ramek

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Pascazio, S., Nakazato, H., Namiki, M. (1998). Temporal Behavior of Quantum Systems and Quantum Zeno Effect. In: Gruber, B., Ramek, M. (eds) Symmetries in Science X. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1537-5_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1537-5_20

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-1539-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1537-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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