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    Localised wave packets do not follow exact Newtonian traj... — Carmelics
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    Localised wave packets do not follow exact Newtonian trajectories because decoherence causes them to fan out into new more localised packets

    CausationModality & Possibility
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    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
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    • 1.Zurek's 'einselection' framework demonstrates that environmental monitoring selects pointer states, actively preventing the clean propagation of any single Newtonian trajectory.
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    • 2.The preferred pointer basis is determined by interaction Hamiltonians, not by pre-existing classical paths, so decoherence constitutively shapes rather than merely disrupts trajectories.
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    • 3.Because einselection continuously regenerates localisation through branching rather than preserving it, the resulting ensemble of packets structurally deviates from any single Newtonian geodesic.
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    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Joos and Zeh (1985) showed that macroscopic superpositions suppress coherence on timescales far shorter than dynamical evolution, meaning momentum uncertainty accumulates before Newtonian forces dominate.
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    • 2.Heisenberg's uncertainty principle entails that each environmentally localised packet carries irreducible momentum spread, so the fan of successor packets collectively explores a wider phase-space volume than Newton predicts.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
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    • 1.A localised wave packet, once sufficiently spread, is decohered into new more localised packets
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    • 2.This decoherence produces a collective 'fanning out' of trajectories
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    • 3.Deviations from Newtonian behaviour arise both from the tendency of individual components to spread and from the localising effect of environmental interaction
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    Modality & PossibilityCausation

    Related

    A localised wave packet, once sufficiently spread, is decohered into new more lo...Because einselection continuously regenerates localisation through branching rat...Deviations from Newtonian behaviour arise both from the tendency of individual c...Heisenberg's uncertainty principle entails that each environmentally localised p...
    +5 moreShow less
    Joos and Zeh (1985) showed that macroscopic superpositions suppress coherence on...Narrowing in position corresponds to a widening in momentum, so environmental lo...The preferred pointer basis is determined by interaction Hamiltonians, not by pr...This decoherence produces a collective 'fanning out' of trajectoriesZurek's 'einselection' framework demonstrates that environmental monitoring sele...

    Similar

    Narrow wave packets follow approximately Newtonian trajectories.89%A localised wave packet, once sufficiently spread, is decohered into n...86%Narrow wave packets that follow the Schrödinger equation approximately...86%Quantum wave packets spread over the energy surface by the Ehrenfest t...83%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: qm-decoherence
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    This picture cannot be exact, because as soon as a localised wave packet has spread enough, it will be decohered into new more localised packets, so that intuitively one will get some kind of ‘fanning out’ of trajectories. In fact, such deviations from Newtonian behaviour are due both to the tendency of the individual components to spread and to the localising effect of the interaction with the environment, which further enhances the collective spreading of the components (because a narrowing in
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit