The preparation time in a scattering experiment

TL;DR

This paper explores the concept of preparation time in quantum scattering experiments, providing a theoretical framework that clarifies its physical meaning and significance in the context of quantum states and measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum mechanical theory with intrinsic time asymmetry that explicitly incorporates preparation time in scattering processes.

Findings

Preparation time corresponds to specific interaction times in experiments.

The theory clarifies the physical meaning of preparation time in quantum scattering.

Provides a framework linking quantum states to experimental timing data.

Abstract

A quantum mechanical theory with time asymmetry intrinsic to states (or observables) features the concept of an initial time of the state and thus a preparation time of the physical system represented by the state. This special time is investigated in the context of scattering theory, where, in standard quantum mechanics, the physical meaning of a preparation time has remained obscure. In an experiment, the preparation time corresponds to an ensemble of times of scattering marking the times in the laboratory when one scattering projectile interacts with one target quantum.