Does the Mott problem extend to Geiger counters?
The Mott problem is a simpler version of the quantum measurement problem that asks: Is there a microscopic physical mechanism – based (explicitly or implicitly) only on Schroedinger’s equation – that explains why a single alpha particle emitted in a single spherically symmetric s-wave nuclear decay...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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De Gruyter
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Open Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/phys-2023-0125 |
| _version_ | 1797646316422037504 |
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| author | Schonfeld Jonathan F. |
| author_facet | Schonfeld Jonathan F. |
| author_sort | Schonfeld Jonathan F. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Mott problem is a simpler version of the quantum measurement problem that asks: Is there a microscopic physical mechanism – based (explicitly or implicitly) only on Schroedinger’s equation – that explains why a single alpha particle emitted in a single spherically symmetric s-wave nuclear decay produces a manifestly nonspherically symmetric single track in a cloud chamber? I attempt here to generalize earlier work that formulated such a mechanism. The key ingredient there was identification of sites at which the cross section for ionization by a passing charged particle is near singular at ionization threshold. This near singularity arose from a Penning-like process involving molecular polarization in subcritical vapor clusters. Here, I argue that the same Mott problem question should be asked about Geiger counters. I then define a simple experiment to determine if ionization physics similar to the cloud chamber case takes place in the mica window of a Geiger counter and explains the collimation of wavefunctions that are spherically symmetric outside the counter into linear ion tracks inside. The experiment measures the count rate from a radioactive point source as a function of source-window separation. I have performed a proof of concept of this experiment; results are reported here and support the near-singular-ionization picture. These results are significant in their own right, and they may shed light on physical mechanisms underlying instances of the full quantum measurement problem. I illustrate this for the Stern–Gerlach experiment and a particular realization of superconducting qubits. I conclude by detailing further work required to flesh out these results more rigorously. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T14:59:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-85e5a2b110bd4341bfb5b77815d4cc56 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2391-5471 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T14:59:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-85e5a2b110bd4341bfb5b77815d4cc562023-10-30T07:59:15ZengDe GruyterOpen Physics2391-54712023-10-012116712010.1515/phys-2023-0125Does the Mott problem extend to Geiger counters?Schonfeld Jonathan F.0Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian 60, Garden St., CambridgeMA 02138, United States of AmericaThe Mott problem is a simpler version of the quantum measurement problem that asks: Is there a microscopic physical mechanism – based (explicitly or implicitly) only on Schroedinger’s equation – that explains why a single alpha particle emitted in a single spherically symmetric s-wave nuclear decay produces a manifestly nonspherically symmetric single track in a cloud chamber? I attempt here to generalize earlier work that formulated such a mechanism. The key ingredient there was identification of sites at which the cross section for ionization by a passing charged particle is near singular at ionization threshold. This near singularity arose from a Penning-like process involving molecular polarization in subcritical vapor clusters. Here, I argue that the same Mott problem question should be asked about Geiger counters. I then define a simple experiment to determine if ionization physics similar to the cloud chamber case takes place in the mica window of a Geiger counter and explains the collimation of wavefunctions that are spherically symmetric outside the counter into linear ion tracks inside. The experiment measures the count rate from a radioactive point source as a function of source-window separation. I have performed a proof of concept of this experiment; results are reported here and support the near-singular-ionization picture. These results are significant in their own right, and they may shed light on physical mechanisms underlying instances of the full quantum measurement problem. I illustrate this for the Stern–Gerlach experiment and a particular realization of superconducting qubits. I conclude by detailing further work required to flesh out these results more rigorously.https://doi.org/10.1515/phys-2023-0125quantum measurementmott problemgeiger counterstern–gerlach experimentqubit |
| spellingShingle | Schonfeld Jonathan F. Does the Mott problem extend to Geiger counters? Open Physics quantum measurement mott problem geiger counter stern–gerlach experiment qubit |
| title | Does the Mott problem extend to Geiger counters? |
| title_full | Does the Mott problem extend to Geiger counters? |
| title_fullStr | Does the Mott problem extend to Geiger counters? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does the Mott problem extend to Geiger counters? |
| title_short | Does the Mott problem extend to Geiger counters? |
| title_sort | does the mott problem extend to geiger counters |
| topic | quantum measurement mott problem geiger counter stern–gerlach experiment qubit |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/phys-2023-0125 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT schonfeldjonathanf doesthemottproblemextendtogeigercounters |