Zenith Grant Awardee
Thomas Durt
Institut Fresnel – UMR 7249
Co-Investigators
Ralph Willox, University of Tokyo; Samuel Colin, Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas
Project Title
Quantum Rogue Waves as Emerging Quantum Events
Project Summary
There are many puzzling aspects of the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics. Light, for example, sometimes behaves as particles, other times as a wave, depending on what is being measured. The observer causes the collapse of the wave-function and this, together with the linearity of the Schrödinger wave equation, forms the core of the measurement problem. However, there are alternatives to standard quantum mechanics which are not plagued by the measurement problem. An example is collapse models, in which a quantum system is always described by a wave, but this wave does not always evolve according to a deterministic equation: it gets localized sporadically according to a stochastic process. We aim to explain this spontaneous localization of the wave thanks to a deterministic process similar to a rogue wave formation, which is a freak wave whose birth is best described by a non-linear wave equation. A good candidate for such program is a non-linear wave equation where the non-linear term has a gravitational origin. In this non-linear framework, we want to understand how these quantum rogue waves (as events) emerge from the wave-function, the relations between these events, and to propose experimental tests to falsify our model.
Technical Abstract
Our project is based on the assumption that the wave-function is the complete description of any quantum system and that it should obey a deterministic nonlinear wave-equation. Collapse models share these characteristics except that the wave evolution is a stochastic one, the stochastic term corresponding to the spontaneous localization of particles. Our ultimate goal is to explain the stochastic spontaneous localization by means of a deterministic but perhaps unpredictable localization process of the wave. This process would be similar to rogue wave formation, which is a process best described by nonlinear wave equations and of relevance to acoustical, hydrodynamical or optical phenomena. The Schr\\\"odinger-Newton equation, which is a nonlinear wave equation where the nonlinear term originates from gravitational self-energy, is a good candidate for our program. In this project, we will develop new experimental tests, to be carried out in an optical trap on Earth. We will also study quantum rogue wave formation in simple models to try to understand the properties of such waves with respect to causality and faster-than-light signaling. Finally, we will organize an extra workshop session that would gather the different actors of the field (experimental physicists, physicists working on collapse models, on nonlinear wave equations).
QSpace Latest
PressRelease: Shining a light on the roots of plant “intelligence”
All living organisms emit a low level of light radiation, but the origin and function of these ‘biophotons’ are not yet fully understood. An international team of physicists, funded by the Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, has proposed a new approach for investigating this phenomenon based on statistical analyses of this emission. Their aim is to test whether biophotons can play a role in the transport of information within and between living organisms, and whether monitoring biophotons could contribute to the development of medical techniques for the early diagnosis of various diseases. Their analyses of the measurements of the faint glow emitted by lentil seeds support models for the emergence of a kind of plant ‘intelligence,’ in which the biophotonic emission carries information and may thus be used by plants as a means to communicate. The team reported this and reviewed the history of biophotons in an article in the journal Applied Sciences in June 2024.