Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2022
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.05344 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866911141684314112 |
|---|---|
| author | Schonfeld, Jonathan F. |
| author_facet | Schonfeld, Jonathan F. |
| contents | The Mott problem asks: Is there a microphysical mechanism - based only on Schroedinger's equation - that explains why an alpha particle emitted in a spherically symmetric nuclear decay produces a non-spherically-symmetric single track in a cloud chamber? This is a variant of the more general quantum measurement problem. Earlier, I proposed such a mechanism, drawing on quantum-mechanical Coulomb scattering and the thermal behavior of supersaturated vapors. I found that the probability that a track originates at distance R from the decay source is proportional to 1/R^2, with a proportionality constant that I expressed in terms of more fundamental parameters but was unable to estimate at the time. I tested the 1/R^2 law opportunistically using cloud chamber video from the Internet. Here, I draw on chemical physics to independently estimate the proportionality constant. The estimate is within a factor 1-2 of a value extracted directly from the data. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2209_05344 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Test of a theory of the Mott quantum-measurement problem Schonfeld, Jonathan F. General Physics The Mott problem asks: Is there a microphysical mechanism - based only on Schroedinger's equation - that explains why an alpha particle emitted in a spherically symmetric nuclear decay produces a non-spherically-symmetric single track in a cloud chamber? This is a variant of the more general quantum measurement problem. Earlier, I proposed such a mechanism, drawing on quantum-mechanical Coulomb scattering and the thermal behavior of supersaturated vapors. I found that the probability that a track originates at distance R from the decay source is proportional to 1/R^2, with a proportionality constant that I expressed in terms of more fundamental parameters but was unable to estimate at the time. I tested the 1/R^2 law opportunistically using cloud chamber video from the Internet. Here, I draw on chemical physics to independently estimate the proportionality constant. The estimate is within a factor 1-2 of a value extracted directly from the data. |
| title | Test of a theory of the Mott quantum-measurement problem |
| topic | General Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.05344 |