How do measurements collapse quantum wavefunctions?
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How do measurements collapse quantum wavefunctions?
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Answer:
This question posits two things: Objective reality of the wavefunction and that of the measurement.
If the wavefunction were to be some more abstract concept, such as a representation of all possible knowledge of a system and a measurement is then a process of retrieving knowledge, then what is it that is collapsing?
We can build an epistemic theory based on a few axioms, which is quantum mechanics. Here we're not concerned about the nature of reality, but just what we can know about it. By taking this approach, we skirt many of the really big questions. However, the wavefunction here is not considered as much more than an accounting tool.
I think it's wise to get off the bus at this stop. Indeed many of the people working on quantum information theory and quantum computing are pretty happy at this juncture. Pragmatically this is the place where you can actually do something with quantum mechanics.
The epistemic stop is also where decoherence theory explains the different behaviours of open and closed quantum systems. That is to say that decoherence theory offers less in the way of an explanation, than just an alternative calculation tool for open quantum systems. The epistemic stop treats quantum mechanics as the ultimate limit to measurement.
We don't need to ask if the wavefunction is real for quantum mechanics to work.
Answer:
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