A state chaining-based objective collapse model

Abstract

The quantum-to-classical transition hinges on the nature of wavefunction collapse, which remains a central controversy in foundational physics. Objective collapse theories aim to modify quantum mechanics by introducing a physical, non-subjective mechanism for irreversible events, but existing models face significant conceptual and empirical challenges. Here, we propose a novel collapse mechanism based on a specific form of quantum correlation termed "chaining", formalized within a new diagrammatic framework (quantum illustrations, or qils). This approach does not rely on system size or environmental complexity, but on the probabilistic occurrence of a collapse event with a fixed, universal probability $1/Σ$ per chaining step. We demonstrate that this model naturally explains the emergence of classicality in paradigmatic scenarios (measurement devices, Schrodinger's cat, spontaneous decay) and makes testable predictions for interference experiments. The theory is shown to be consistent with existing data from delayed-choice quantum eraser and matter-wave interference experiments, yielding an estimate for the fundamental constant $Σ\geq 1.5$. By providing a unified, parameter-sparse mechanism for objective collapse, this work bridges quantum and classical descriptions and has implications for the interpretation of quantum experiments, the design of quantum computers/sensors, and the understanding of decoherence in complex systems.

Figures (5)

• Figure 1: A scheme of a delayed-choice quantum eraser experiment based on a Mach - Zehnder interferometer. The star is a single-photon sourse; the thin rectangles depict mirrors; the cubes represent pieces of nonlinear crystals; and the triangles are detectors. Different trajectories are depicted by different lines for them to be more distinguishable.
• Figure 2: A PMT scheme. At first, we have a photon (yellow dot) that splits into a superposition of red and blue paths. The electrons then also split into two paths - red (the photon is detected) and blue (the photon is deflected by a mirror). Every path contains a set of chained electrons which grows without its number of degrees of freedom growing. At some moment, a collapse event occurs, and the chained degree of freedom falls into one of two possible options.
• Figure 3: An illustration of a time-state corresponding the atomic relaxation process. The excited atom's world line (red) is in a superposition of states with different ending time point $t$. The ground state's world line (blue) and the one of a photon (yellow) are in a superposition as well. However, their initial time points $t$ are both correspond to the ending time point of the excited state, which means the world lines' qils are chained.
• Figure 4: Fits for the interference patterns of several experiments. The blue line is a general fit, the green line is the bias evaluated and the red dots are the experimental data.
• Figure 5: Fits for the interference pattern of a Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser experiment dcqe. The blue line is a general fit, the green line is the bias evaluated and the red dots are the experimental data.