Observations of wavefunction collapse and the retrospective application of the Born rule

TL;DR

This paper explores how wavefunction collapse affects conservation laws and suggests that applying the Born rule retrospectively can lead to false memories about quantum measurements, challenging traditional interpretations.

Contribution

It introduces a thought experiment demonstrating the impact of collapse on conservation laws and examines the implications of using the Born rule retrospectively for quantum probabilities.

Findings

Wavefunction collapse can violate conservation laws.

Retrospective application of the Born rule implies observer memories may be false.

Different results arise depending on whether collapse occurs or not.

Abstract

In this paper I present a thought experiment that gives different results depending on whether or not the wavefunction collapses. Since the wavefunction does not obey the Schrodinger equation during the collapse, conservation laws are violated. This is the reason why the results are different. Quantities that are conserved if the wavefunction does not collapse might change if it does. I also show that using the Born Rule to derive probabilities of states before a measurement given the state after it (rather than the other way round as it is usually used) leads to the conclusion that the memories that an observer has about making measurements of quantum systems have a significant probability of being false memories.