The permanent spatial decomposition of the wave function

TL;DR

This paper formalizes the concept of permanent spatial decomposition (PSD) of the wave function, exploring its implications for measurement, scattering theory, and comparing it with Bohmian mechanics.

Contribution

It provides the first formal definition of PSD and investigates its connection with scattering theory and its explanatory role in quantum measurement.

Findings

Formal definition of PSD introduced

Connection between PSD and scattering theory explored

Comparison with Bohmian mechanics discussed

Abstract

Permanent spatial decomposition (PSD) is the (hypothesized) property of the wave function of a macroscopic system of decomposing into localized permanently non-overlapping parts when it spreads over a macroscopic region. The typical example of this phenomenon is the measurement process, in which the wave function of the laboratory (quantum system + apparatus + environment) decomposes into n parts, corresponding to the n outcomes of the measurement: the parts are non-overlapping, because they represent a macroscopic pointer in different positions, and they are permanently non-overlapping due to the irreversible interaction with the environment. PSD is often mentioned in the literature, but until now no formal definition or systematic study of this phenomenon has been undertaken. The aim of this paper is to partially fill this gap by giving a formal definition of PSD and studying its possible connection with scattering theory. The predictive and explanatory powers of this phenomenon are also discussed and compared with those of Bohmian mechanics.