The Copenhagen Interpretation as an Emergent Phenomenon
Timothy J. Hollowood

TL;DR
This paper demonstrates how the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics can naturally emerge from the underlying linear quantum world through decoherence and coarse graining, without requiring observers or classical assumptions.
Contribution
It introduces a relational, decoherence-based framework that explains the emergence of the Copenhagen interpretation from microscopic quantum laws.
Findings
Copenhagen rules emerge from decoherence and coarse graining.
Large number of degrees of freedom resolve superposition issues.
Measurement processes are explained without observers.
Abstract
The Copenhagen interpretation has been remarkably successful but seems at odds with the underlying linearity of quantum mechanics. We show how it can emerge in a simple way from the underlying microscopic quantum world governed by Schrodinger's equation without the need for observers or their brains. In order to achieve this, we assemble pieces of various pre-existing ideas. Firstly, we adopt a relational approach and use the eigenvectors of the reduced density matrix of a quantum sub-system, or equivalently the Schmidt decomposition, to define the `internal state' of a sub-system. Previous work has identified serious objections to such an interpretation because it apparently leads to macroscopic superpositions and physically unacceptable instabilities near degeneracies. We show that both these problems are solved if the sub-system consists of a large number of coarse grained degrees of…
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Taxonomy
TopicsQuantum Mechanics and Applications · Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics · Quantum Information and Cryptography
