Questions tagged [born-rule]
The Born rule is a rule in Quantum Mechanics that states that the probability density $\rho$ is $|\psi|^2$ where $\psi$ is the probability amplitude.
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Do we actually need negative probabilities in quantum mechanics?
I was reading this thread and I'm a bit confused. The answer says negative probabilities can account for destructive wave interference and the events cancelling out. But if events just cancel out, ...
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Must a wavefunction be normalisable for a pdf to exist?
My course notes say,
for normalised wave functions $\psi(x,t)$, the function $$\rho(x,t)=|\psi(x,t)|^2=\overline{\psi(x,t)}\psi(x,t)$$ gives the $\color{red}{\text{probability density}}$ for the ...
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The probability density function $|Ψ|²$ [duplicate]
Max Born stated that $|Ψ|²$ is the probability density of a particle, given its wave function to be $Ψ$. But why is this? Where does this come from?
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How are Gleason's and Kochen-Specker's theorems related?
If, on the one hand, I were to paraphrase Gleason's theorem, it would loosely state that
if one can assign a truth value $p_k$ to each basis vector $\vec{u}_k$
such that $\sum_k p_k = 1$, then that ...
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Why do we only look at transitions between energy-eigenstates, when perturbing a system with an oscillating interaction?
I have some doubts about the usual explanation of sharply peaked emission / absorption spectra, that one can observe when one looks at quantum mechanical systems, for example the hydrogen atom.
In ...
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If states cannot be written as superposition of eigenkets of observable, then how do we measure an observable for that state?
Usually, if we have a state $|\psi\rangle$, and have to measure an observable $A$, then all we do is expand $|\psi\rangle$ in terms of the eigenvectors of observable A, and then the probability of ...
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Why it is a longstanding challenge to reproduce Born rule in Everettian QM?
I'm reading this Sebens and Carroll's paper on Self-Locating Uncertainty and the Origin of Probability in Everettian Quantum Mechanics. Where they presented their derivations of the Born rule and ...
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Nature of expectation values and Born's rule and the measurement problem
Suppose we take a normalised quantum mechanical wave function of $\Psi (\mathbf{r} ,t)$.
If we expand it in a certain form of spatial functions $\psi_{n} (r)$ which is complete orthonormal. Then we ...
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Is the Born rule a red herring in explaining the measurement problem? [closed]
Many explanations of the measurement problem try to derive the Born rule from Schrodinger evolution, for example Many worlds. I have two reasons to think the Born rule isn't fundamentally related to ...
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Transition from discrete case to a continuous case with regards to the Born's Rule
I learned that given that the eigenvalue equation is $$
\widehat{A}\left|u_{n}^{i}\right\rangle=\lambda_{n}\left|u_{n}^{i}\right\rangle
$$
where $
i \in\{1,2, \ldots, g_n\}
$, and that the state $
|\...
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Probability of a state "being found in another" [closed]
I'm sorry if something gets lost in translation, as my professor wrote all questions in portuguese, but what does it mean to ask the probability of finding "state $|\alpha \rangle$ in state $|\...
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Replacement of Born rule to understand consciousness [closed]
This postulate should replace the Born rule as it makes the Born rule precise w.r.t. decoherence:
"If a consciousness is in a superposition $\sum |k_i \rangle$, such that $\langle k_i|k_j\rangle=...
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Basic Quantum mechanics: This nonphysical "fun" homework with operators just gives me nonsense [closed]
For QM homework we are given $\vert \psi \rangle = \sum_{i = 1}^3 c_i \vert i \rangle$ where $\vert i \rangle$ represent different positions. Firstly we are asked $P(i=2\vert \psi)$ which is given $P(...
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Which experiments confirm that the Born rule is $|\psi|^2$ rather than $|\psi|$?
It seems like some experiments on quantum systems, like the electron $g-2$ measurement, do not rely directly on the Born rule, since they are more so measuring inherent characteristics of the ...
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I'm trying to understand this paper on Born rule in Many-Worlds Interpretation
https://arxiv.org/abs/1405.7907
In particular I would like to understand this paragraph, right before chapter 6:
This route to the Born Rule has a simple physical interpretation. Take the wave ...
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Does Born's rule guarantee component-wise probabilities? [closed]
Suppose I have the wave function $\vec{\psi} = \begin{bmatrix} \psi_x \\ \psi_y \\ \psi_z \end{bmatrix}$.
If I understand Born's rule correctly, the equality $\vec{\psi}^* \cdot \vec{\psi} = f(x,y,z)$ ...
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Born's Rule for states over supernumbers?
For Quantum-mechanics on a Hilbert-space over the complex numbers, the usual scalar product of two states $\langle \phi | \psi \rangle$ and gives the transition amplitude between the two states. The ...
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A question of the semantic meaning of the (non-relativistic) propagator
In the Wikipedia article it says "the propagator is a function that specifies the probability amplitude for a particle to travel from one place to another in a given period of time".
Let us ...
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Interpretation of Born Rule In QFT
Can we born rule be used to find probability of a particle to exist in a region in QFT using the formula $\int_a^b \psi(x)\psi^*(x)dx$,where $\psi(x)$ is a fermionic field?
If yes, please provide ...
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Wavefunction Amplitude Intuition
Reading the responses to this question: Contradiction in my understanding of wavefunction in finite potential well
it seems people are pretty confident that, e.g., the wavefunction of a particle in a ...
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Probabilities of eigenfunctions
I am struggling to understand how to get the probabilities of each eigenstate occurring from a wavefunction that is a linear combination of eigenfunctions. If we have a wavefunction
$$\Psi = A ( e^{...
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What is an intuitive or simple proof of Gleason's theorem and how it relates to the Born rule?
What is an intuitive or simple proof of Gleason's theorem and how it relates to the Born rule? I tried to read the articles, but the proof seemed big and the kind that are unintuitive (im not ...
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How are can there be initial conditions in Bohmian mechanics that disobey the Born rule if Gleason's theorem is true?
Gleason's theorem constrains the possible measures that are allowed on Hilbert spaces of dimension $\ge 3$. It is often said that Gleason's theorem essentially says that the Born rule is the ...
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How is it possible for Born's interpretation of the wave function to be published after Schrödinger published his equation?
If I am right Born published his interpretation of the wave function after Schrodinger published his wave equation. However, according to my QM textbook, all the expected values of quantities (like ...
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Why macroscopic bodies should exist as wavepacket?
Based on my understanding, we assume that the electrons, exist as wavepackets in the solids while deriving the transport equations for transistors, we create wavepackets out of momentum eigenstates ...
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Why doesn't Gleason's theorem imply the Born rule?
I know that the question "does Born's rule follow from Gleason's theorem" has already answers on the website: see here, and here. I am not satisfied with the answers given (one cannot rule ...
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Why particularly probability density is defined as $|\Psi|^2=\Psi \Psi^{*}$?
It may be a stupid question, but why particularly for probability density expression $k~|\Psi|^2 = k~\Psi^{*}\Psi$, it's assumed that $k=1$?
As it is now, then in a complex plane probability density ...
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What is the relation between the wave function in Born's rule and the wave function in Dirac's equation? [duplicate]
The wave function for spins without position can be seen as a complex wave vector $\psi=(\psi_1,\psi_2,\ldots)$ and the probability to measure a state $\psi^{(A)}$ in another state $\psi^{(B)}$ is
$$
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What is the distribution for a function of different quantum observables?
Suppose we have a quantum mechanical particle prepared in a pure state $\psi$, and an apparatus that can measure the orbital angular momentum of the particle along a specified orthogonal axis ($x$, $y$...
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Can I interpret the squaring of the wave function like this? [duplicate]
Born rule states that the probability density of the wave function is equal to the square of the function over the given interval. I thought, "Why squared?". I came up with this:
"We ...
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Interacting Picture in QFT
I'm having trouble understanding how the interaction picture describes scattering. In quantum theory, the probability amplitude for a system in state $|i(t_i) \rangle$ to be measured in state $|f(t_f) ...
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How to derive Collinear amplitude proportional to Born amplitude
In the collinear limit, the squared matrix element factorises into (for partons 4 and 5 going collinear)
\begin{eqnarray}
\overline{\sum}|M_3(1+2 \to 3+4+5)|^2 \approx \overline{\sum}|M_2(1+2 \to 3+4')...
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Probabilities fall outside the differential?
A few years ago I had a conversation with a physical chemist, and one of her comments still lingers in my memory. Our conversation was about Quantum Chemistry. In response to my commenting on the ...
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Born rule for a sequence of measurements: Why this particular form?
If we have some observable $O=\sum_i\lambda_iP_i$ where $P_i$ are the usual projectors you get in a spectral decomposition, then the probability for a single measurement yielding an outcome $\lambda_j$...
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Is the Born rule usually regarded an axiom in quantum mechanics?
The statement
For simplicity, let's consider a finite-dimensional Hilbert space. (The question can probably be generalized, but I don't know enough about mathematical QM to properly do so.)
Let $A\...
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What does Hartle's derivation of the Born rule actually amount to?
There have been many questions asked here on the topic of whether the Born rule can be derived from the rest of the axioms of quantum mechanics. See, for example, this and links therein. However, I ...
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Probability current (Integral in all space)
So , when we take the integral in all space of the probability current j (as defined in the first relationship here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probability_current) in non relativistic quantum ...
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Wave function and uncertainty principle
Why is the position of a particle in the Schrödinger wave equation represented as an exponential periodic wave $$A\exp\left(\frac{(2\pi\iota)(px-Et)}{h}\right)$$ where $p$ is momentum and $E$ is the ...
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Probability resulting from uncertainty when the measuring device exactly clicks?
Background
Let's say I have $2$ set of eigenkets of observables of a system $|x_i \rangle $ and $|p_j \rangle$ (which do not commute). Let's say I have a non-ideal detector in the sense the ...
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On Born's rule and Cauchy-Schwarz inequality
Citing Born's rule:
If an observable corresponding to a self-adjoint operator ${\textstyle A}$ with discrete spectrum is measured in a system with normalized wave function ${\textstyle |\psi \rangle }...
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Why is the probability that one state $|i\rangle$ ends up in the state $|f\rangle$ given by $|\langle i|f\rangle|^2$? [duplicate]
I've come across this relation numerous times, textbooks use it as if it is obvious. But I have never come across a proof or an intuitive explanation about why is it true.
It would be helpful if ...
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Can I apply the Born rule to a Dirac spinor?
How does a Dirac spinor such as:
$$
\psi = \pmatrix{a_0+ib_0\\a_1+ib_1\\a_2+ib_2\\a_3+ib_3}
$$
Connect to a probability?
Can one apply the Born rule of this object?
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Born Rule proof for freshmen
Although early quantum mechanics are taught in many freshman courses, the Born Rule is almost never proved at that stage. Is it even impossible to elementarily prove that the probability density is ...
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Many worlds interpretation and probabilities
How is the many worlds interpretation (MWI) of QM consistent with the probabilistic interpretation of the wave function (given by Born's interpretation)? For example, say a particle has a 90% chance ...
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Probability of a system being in a particular state after some time $T$
If we study a QM system and an observable that we can measure on it (like Energy etc).
I know that for the probability that the system is in an eigenstate (discrete and not degenerated) we have ...
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I understand what it represents, but what physically is the wave function?
In quantum mechanics, I understand that the wave function represents the state of a particle and that the square of the wave function tells us the probability of a particle being found at a particular ...
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Origin of probabilities in Quantum Mechanics?
The non-normalized wavefunction of a general qubit is given by:
$$|\psi\rangle=A|0\rangle+B|1\rangle.$$
The complex amplitudes $A$ and $B$ can be represented by two arrows in the complex plane:
Now ...
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Correct interpretation of $\langle x | \psi \rangle$?
Suppose $|x\rangle$ is an eigenvector of the position operator $\hat{x}$ and let $|\psi\rangle$ be an arbitrary state on this Hilbert space. What is the correct interpretation of the complex number $\...
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Orthonormality condition in quantum mechanics [closed]
What does the orthonormality condition in quantum mechanics truly signify? Does it have a physical meaning? Or is it just a method of normalization applied in order to find the probabilities?
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Expectation value and the probability of finding a particle [closed]
I'm trying to understand basic quantum physics, as I understand, the expectation value of some random distribution gives us the outcome that we might expect(highest probability) if the event is done ...
