On the Evolution of States in a Quantum-Mechanical Model of Experiments

Ideas and results in the quantum theory of experiments are reviewed. To fix ideas, a concrete example of indirect measurements, an experiment devised by Guerlin et al. (Nature 448(7156):889–893, 2007), and theoretical interpretations thereof (Bauer and Bernard, Phys Rev A 84(4):044103, 2011; Bauer et al., Ann H Poincaré 14:639–679, 2013) are recalled. Subsequently two important elements of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, viz. the von Neumann- and the Lüders measurement postulates, are recalled and rendered more precise. Next, a model originally proposed by Gisin et al. (Phys Rev Lett 52:1657–1660, 1984) is described and shown to imply these postulates. It is then used to provide a theoretical description of the experiment in Guerlin et al. (Nature 448(7156):889–893, 2007) involving a “Heisenberg cut” differing from the one invoked in (Bauer and Bernard, Phys Rev A 84(4):044103, 2011; Bauer et al., Ann H Poincaré 14:639–679, 2013; J Stat Phys 162:924–958, 2016). Some technical issues in the analysis of Gisin’s model are elaborated upon. The paper concludes with remarks on a general principle that implies a universal law governing the stochastic time evolution of states of individual physical systems featuring events and leading to a solution of the so-called measurement problem in quantum mechanics.