corner
corner

Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 180403 (2007) [4 pages]

Classical World Arising out of Quantum Physics under the Restriction of Coarse-Grained Measurements

Download: PDF (134 kB) Buy this article Export: BibTeX or EndNote (RIS)

Johannes Kofler1,2 and Časlav Brukner1,2
1Fakultät für Physik, Universität Wien, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090 Wien, Austria
2Institut für Quantenoptik und Quanteninformation (IQOQI), Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Boltzmanngasse 3, 1090 Wien, Austria

Received 12 September 2006; published 2 November 2007

Conceptually different from the decoherence program, we present a novel theoretical approach to macroscopic realism and classical physics within quantum theory. It focuses on the limits of observability of quantum effects of macroscopic objects, i.e., on the required precision of our measurement apparatuses such that quantum phenomena can still be observed. First, we demonstrate that for unrestricted measurement accuracy, no classical description is possible for arbitrarily large systems. Then we show for a certain time evolution that under coarse-grained measurements, not only macrorealism but even classical Newtonian laws emerge out of the Schrödinger equation and the projection postulate.

© 2007 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.180403
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.180403
PACS:
03.65.Ta