Quantum Measurement Problem as Loss of Adiabatic Invariance

Abstract

The measurement problem of Quantum Mechanics reflects the tension between the deterministic evolution of wavefunctions and their random collapse caused by experimental observations. Here we argue that, in the Hamiltonian picture of quantum dynamics, wavefunction collapse follows from the destruction of adiabatic invariance on ultrashort time scales. Once adiabatic invariance is lost, Planck’s constant becomes meaningless, and Quantum Mechanics breaks down. We also suggest that, in the long-time limit, action quantization is a result of Arnold diffusion, a process describing the instability of nearly integrable Hamiltonian systems with more than two degrees of freedom.