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Schrödinger and Einstein exchanged letters about Einstein's EPR article, in the course of which Einstein pointed out that the state of an unstable keg of gunpowder will, after a while, contain a superposition of both exploded and unexploded states. The EPR experiment shows that a system with multiple particles separated by large distances can be in such a superposition. When this happens, the superposition collapses into one or another of the possible definite states. The prevailing theory, called the Copenhagen interpretation, says that a quantum system remains in superposition until it interacts with, or is observed by the external world. The EPR article highlighted the counterintuitive nature of quantum superpositions, in which a quantum system such as an atom or photon can exist as a combination of multiple states corresponding to different possible outcomes. Schrödinger intended his thought experiment as a discussion of the EPR article-named after its authors Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen-in 1935. Depending on the light conditions, the cat appears either alive or dead. The scenario is often featured in theoretical discussions of the interpretations of quantum mechanics, particularly in situations involving the measurement problem.Ī life-size cat figure in the garden of Huttenstrasse 9, Zurich, where Erwin Schrödinger lived 1921–1926. This thought experiment was devised by physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935, in a discussion with Albert Einstein, to illustrate what Schrödinger saw as the problems of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat may be considered simultaneously both alive and dead as a result of its fate being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur. In quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment that illustrates a paradox of quantum superposition. This poses the question of when exactly quantum superposition ends and reality resolves into one possibility or the other. Yet, when one looks in the box, one sees the cat either alive or dead, not both alive and dead. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. a single atom decaying), the flask is shattered, releasing the poison, which kills the cat. Geiger counter) detects radioactivity (i.e. In this picture, operators and state vectors generally evolve in time.Schrödinger's cat: a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are placed in a sealed box. The interaction picture (page 46) is used when the Schrödinger-picture Hamiltonian is time dependent. The Heisenberg picture is therefore the specific time-dependent reference frame in which the transformed state vectors are constant in time, while operators (such as the position and momentum operators) that have no time dependence in the Schrödinger picture may depend on time in the Heisenberg picture.
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When this unitary transformation is applied to a Schrödinger-picture state vector | Ψ S ( t ) 〉, time dependence vanishes: | Ψ H 〉 ≡ U ^ † ( t, t 0 ) | Ψ S ( t ) 〉 = | Ψ S ( t 0 ) 〉, where | Ψ H 〉 is the transformed ket of the Heisenberg picture.
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The Heisenberg picture (page 45) is defined by a unitary transformation operator F ^ ( t ) = U ^ † ( t, t 0 ) (see page 42) that is the adjoint of the time evolution operator of the Schrödinger picture. The Schrödinger picture is the frame of reference on which the transformations to the other two pictures are based. If not explicitly stated otherwise, the state vectors and operators of this Field Guide are given in the Schrödinger picture. Also in the Schrödinger picture, position and momentum operators have no time dependence. The state vectors are labeled with the subscript S here to identify that the state vectors correspond to the Schrödinger picture. If a time evolution operator U ^ ( t, t 0 ) and an initial state vector | Ψ S ( t 0 ) 〉 are known for a given system, then the state vector dynamics in the Schrödinger picture are found via | Ψ S ( t ) 〉 = U ^ ( t, t 0 ) | Ψ S ( t 0 ) 〉. In the Schrödinger picture, state vectors evolve in time under the action of the Hamiltonian according to the Schrödinger equation and postulate 3 on page 11. The pictures are distinguished from one another by the specific time-dependent unitary transformations involved in defining the different reference frames. The terms Schrödinger picture, Heisenberg picture, and interaction picture are given to three particular frames of reference. Schrödinger, Heisenberg, and Interaction Pictures