Are collapse models testable with quantum oscillating systems? The case of neutrinos, kaons, chiral molecules
- Author(s)
- M. Bahrami, S. Donadi, L. Ferialdi, A. Bassi, C. Curceanu, A. Di Domenico, B. C. Hiesmayr
- Abstract
Collapse models provide a theoretical framework for understanding how classical world emerges from quantum mechanics. Their dynamics preserves (practically) quantum linearity for microscopic systems, while it becomes strongly nonlinear when moving towards macroscopic scale. The conventional approach to test collapse models is to create spatial superpositions of mesoscopic systems and then examine the loss of interference, while environmental noises are engineered carefully. Here we investigate a different approach: We study systems that naturally oscillate–creating quantum superpositions–and thus represent a natural case-study for testing quantum linearity: neutrinos, neutral mesons, and chiral molecules. We will show how spontaneous collapses affect their oscillatory behavior, and will compare them with environmental decoherence effects. We will show that, contrary to what previously predicted, collapse models cannot be tested with neutrinos. The effect is stronger for neutral mesons, but still beyond experimental reach. Instead, chiral molecules can offer promising candidates for testing collapse models.
- Organisation(s)
- Particle Physics
- External organisation(s)
- Università degli Studi di Trieste, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Roma, Sapienza University of Rome, Masaryk University
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Volume
- 3
- No. of pages
- 7
- ISSN
- 2045-2322
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/srep01952
- Publication date
- 06-2013
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 103036 Theoretical physics, 103034 Particle physics, 103025 Quantum mechanics
- Keywords
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/are-collapse-models-testable-with-quantum-oscillating-systems-the-case-of-neutrinos-kaons-chiral-molecules(2f5bcab5-7746-4af8-ac82-f13d4978ca60).html