WAVE-FUNCTION COLLAPSE IN ATOMIC PHYSICS

Wave function collapse has been a contentious concept in quantum mechanics for a considerable time. Here we show examples of how the concept can be used to advantage in predicting the statistical results of three experiments in atomic physics and quantum optics: photon antibunching, single-photon phase difference states and interrupted single-atom fluorescence. We examine the question of whether or not collapse is 'really' a physical process, and discuss the consequences of simply omitting it but including the observer as a part of the overall system governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. The resulting entangled world does not appear to be inconsistent with experience.