Spontaneous Collapse by Entanglement Suppression

A modified Schrodinger equation having an added nonlinear term, which gives rise to disentanglement, has been recently proposed. The process of quantum measurement is explored for the case of a pair of coupled spins. It is found that the deterministic time evolution generated by the modified Schrodinger equation mimics the process of wavefunction collapse. Added noise gives rise to stochasticity in the measurement process. Conflict with both principles of causality and separability can be avoided by postulating that the nonlinear term is active only during the time when subsystems interact. Moreover, in the absence of entanglement, all predictions of standard quantum mechanics are unaffected by the added nonlinear term.

Automated summary

A modified Schrodinger equation with a nonlinear term has been proposed, leading to disentanglement. The quantum measurement process is studied for a pair of coupled spins. The deterministic time evolution generated by the modified equation mimics wavefunction collapse, while added noise introduces stochasticity. By assuming the nonlinear term is only active during subsystem interaction, conflicts with causality and separability can be avoided, and the added term does not affect predictions in the absence of entanglement.