• DOI:10.1007/S40509-016-0077-7
• Corpus ID: 32523066

A conjecture concerning determinism, reduction, and measurement in quantum mechanics

@article{Jabs2012ACC,
  title={A conjecture concerning determinism, reduction, and measurement in quantum mechanics},
  author={Arthur Jabs},
  journal={Quantum Studies: Mathematics and Foundations},
  year={2012},
  volume={3},
  pages={279-292}
}

• A. Jabs
• Published 3 April 2012
• Physics
• Quantum Studies: Mathematics and Foundations

It is shown that it is possible to introduce determinism into quantum mechanics by tracing the probabilities in the Born rules back to pseudorandomness in the absolute phase constants of the wave functions. Each wave function is conceived to contain an individual phase factor $$\exp (\mathrm {i}\alpha )$$exp(iα). In an ensemble of systems, the phase constants $$\alpha $$α are taken to be pseudorandom numbers. A reduction process (collapse), independent of any measurement, is conceived to be a spatial contraction of two wavepackets when they meet and satisfy a certain criterion. The criterion depends on the phase constants of both wavepackets. The measurement apparatus fans out the incoming wavepacket into spatially separated eigenpackets of the observable and a reduction associates the point of contraction with an eigenvalue of the observable. The theory is nonlocal and contextual.