The decoherent (consistent) histories formalism has been proposed as a means of eliminating measurements as a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics. In this formalism, probabilities can be assigned to any description which satisfies a particular consistency condition. The formalism, however, admits incompatible descriptions which cannot be combined, unlike classical physics. This seems to leave an ambiguity in the choice of the description. I argue that this ambiguity is removed by considering the observer as a physical system.
The theory of decoherent histories allows one to talk of the behavior of quantum systems in the absence of measurement. This paper generalizes the idea of decoherent histories to arbitrary open system operations and proposes experimentally testable criteria for decoherence.
Griffiths claims that the ``single family rule'', a basic postulate of the decoherent histories approach, rules out our requirement that any decoherent history has a unique truth value, independently from the decoherent family to which it may belong. Here we analyze the reasons which make our requirement indispensable and we discuss the consequences of rejecting it.
We reconsider the Decoherent Histories approach to Quantum Mechanics and we analyze some problems related to its interpretation which, according to us, have not been adequately clarified by its proponents. We put forward some assumptions which, in our opinion, are necessary for a realistic interpretation of the probabilities that the formalism attaches to decoherent histories. We prove that such assumptions, unless one limits the set of the decoherent families which can be taken into account, lead to a logical contradiction. The line of reasoning we will follow is conceptually different from o…
In the context of the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory, it is shown that a class of macroscopic configurations consisting of histories of local densities (number, momentum, energy) exhibit negligible interference. This follows from the close connection of the local densities with the corresponding exactly conserved (and so exactly decoherent) quantities, and also from the observation that the eigenstates of local densities (averaged over a sufficiently large volume) remain approximate eigenstates under time evolution. The result is relevant to the derivation of hydrodynamic equa…
A brief introduction to the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory is given, with emphasis on its role in the discussion of the emergence of classicality from quantum theory. Some applications are discussed, including quantum-classical couplings, the relationship of the histories approach to quantum state diffusion, and the application of the histories approach to situations involving time in a non-trivial way.
Quantum open systems are described in the Markovian limit by master equations in Lindblad form. I argue that common ``quantum trajectory'' techniques corresponding to continuous measurement schemes, which solve the master equation by unraveling its evolution into stochastic trajectories in Hilbert space, correspond closely to particular sets of decoherent (or consistent) histories. This is illustrated by a simple model of photon counting. An equivalence is shown for these models between standard quantum jumps and the orthogonal jumps of Diósi, which have already been shown to correspond to dec…
In the arrival time problem in quantum mechanics, a standard formula that frequently emerges as the probability for crossing the origin during a given time interval is the current integrated over that time interval. This is semiclassically correct but can be negative due to backflow. Here, we show that this formula naturally arises in a decoherent histories analysis of the arrival time problem. For a variety of initial states, we show that histories crossing during different time intervals are approximately decoherent. Probabilities may therefore be assigned and coincide with the standard form…
The most general description of the classical world is in terms of local densities (such as number, momentum, energy), and these typically evolve according to evolution equations of hydrodynamic form. To explain the emergent classicality of these variables from an underlying quantum theory, it is therefore necessary to show, firstly, that these variables exhibit negligible interference, and secondly, that the probabilities for histories of them are peaked around hydrodynamic evolution. The implementation of this programme in the context of the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory is…
D. Wallace has tried to use decoherence to solve the preferred basis problem of Everettian Quantum Mechanics, and this solution lays the foundation for his proof of the Born rule. But this is a circular argument, as approximations used in decoherence usually rely on the probabilistic interpretation of the Hilbert space norm. He claims the norm can measure approximations even without probabilities, but this assumption has not been properly justified. Without it, the combination of the Everettian and decoherent histories formalisms leads to strange consequences, such as a proliferation of small …
We review recent progress in understanding the arrival time problem in quantum mechanics, from the point of view of the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory. We begin by discussing the arrival time problem, focussing in particular on the role of the probability current in the expected classical solution. After a brief introduction to decoherent histories we review the use of complex potentials in the construction of appropriate class operators. We then discuss the arrival time problem for a particle coupled to an environment, and review how the arrival time probability can be expres…
For a system consisting of a large collection of particles, a set of variables that will generally become effectively classical are the local densities (number, momentum, energy). That is, in the context of the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory, it is expected that histories of these variables will be approximately decoherent, and that their probabilites will be strongly peaked about hydrodynamic equations. This possibility is explored for the case of the diffusion of the number density of a dilute concentration of foreign particles in a fluid. This system has the appealing featu…
The decoherent histories approach is a natural medium in which to address problems in quantum theory which involve time in a non-trivial way. This article reviews the various attempts and difficulties involved in using the decoherent histories approach to calculate the probability for crossing the surface $x=0$ during a finite interval of time. The commonly encountered difficulties in assigning crossing times arise here as difficulties in satisfying the consistency (no-interference) condition. This can be overcome by introducing an environment to produce decoherence, and probabilities exhibiti…
The predictions of the Bohmian and the decoherent (or consistent) histories formulations of the quantum mechanics of a closed system are compared for histories -- sequences of alternatives at a series of times. For certain kinds of histories, Bohmian mechanics and decoherent histories may both be formulated in the same mathematical framework within which they can be compared. In that framework, Bohmian mechanics and decoherent histories represent a given history by different operators. Their predictions for the probabilities of histories therefore generally differ. However, in an idealized mod…
Macroscopic systems are described most completely by local densities (particle number, momentum and energy) yet the superposition states of such physical variables, indicated by the Everett interpretation, are not observed. In order to explain this, it is argued that histories of local number, momentum and energy density are approximately decoherent when coarse-grained over sufficiently large volumes. Decoherence arises directly from the proximity of these variables to exactly conserved quantities (which are exactly decoherent), and not from environmentally-induced decoherence. We discuss the …
The method of decoherent histories allows probabilities to be assigned to sequences of quantum events in systems, such as the universe as a whole, where there is no external observer to make measurements. This paper applies the method of decoherent histories to address cosmological questions. Using a series of simple examples, beginning with the harmonic oscillator, we show that systems in a stationary state such as an energy eigenstate or thermal state can exhibit decoherent histories with non-trivial dynamics. We then examine decoherent histories in a universe that undergoes eternal inflatio…
The quantum Zeno effect arises due to frequent observation. That implies the existence of some experimenter and its interaction with the system. In this contribution, we examine what happens for a closed system if one considers a quantum Zeno type of question, namely: "what is the probability of a system, remaining always in a particular subspace". This has implications to the arrival time problem that is also discussed. We employ the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory, as this is the better developed formulation of closed system quantum mechanics, and in particular, dealing with …
The consistent histories approach to quantum mechanics is traditionally based on linearly ordered sequences of events. We extend the histories formalism to sets of events whose causal ordering is described by directed acyclic graphs. The need for a global time is eliminated and our construction reflects the causal structure faithfully.
The decoherent histories formalism, developed by Griffiths, Gell-Mann, and Hartle is a general framework in which to formulate a timeless, `generalised' quantum theory and extract predictions from it. Recent advances in spin foam models allow for loop gravity to be cast in this framework. In this paper, I propose a decoherence functional for loop gravity and interpret existing results as showing that coarse grained histories follow quasiclassical trajectories in the appropriate limit.
This paper discusses the relation between the decoherent histories approach to quantum mechanics that is based on coarse-grained decoherent histories of a closed system, and the approximate quantum mechanics of measured subsystems, as in the Copenhagen interpretation. We show how the a classical world used in such formulations is not to something to be postulated but rather explained by suitable sets of alternative histories of quasiclassical variables. We discuss the general definition of measurement, the collapse of the wave function, and irreversibility from the perspective of decoherent hi…
We discuss some features of the Decoherent Histories approach. We consider four assumptions, the first three being in our opinion necessary for a sound interpretation of the theory, while the fourth one is accepted by the supporters of the DH approach, and we prove that they lead to a logical contradiction. We discuss the consequences of relaxing any one of them.
We present a formulation of the decoherent (or consistent) histories quantum theory of closed systems starting with records of what histories happen. Alternative routes to a formulation of quantum theory like this one can be useful both for understanding quantum mechanics and for generalizing and extending it to new realms of application and experimental test.
We address a number of aspects of the arrival time problem defined using a complex potential of step function form. We concentrate on the limit of a weak potential, in which the resulting arrival time distribution function is closely related to the quantum-mechanical current. We first consider the analagous classical arrival time problem involving an absorbing potential, and this sheds some light on certain aspects of the quantum case. In the quantum case, we review the path decomposition expansion (PDX), in which the propagator is factored across a surface of constant time, so is very useful …
We investigate the decoherence of histories of local densities for linear oscillators models. It is shown that histories of local number, momentum and energy density are approximately decoherent, when coarse-grained over sufficiently large volumes. Decoherence arises directly from the proximity of these variables to exactly conserved quantities (which are exactly decoherent), and not from environmentally-induced decoherence. We discuss the approach to local equilibrium and the subsequent emergence of hydrodynamic equations for the local densities.
Decoherent histories quantum theory is reformulated with the assumption that there is one "real" fine-grained history, specified in a preferred complete set of sum-over-histories variables. This real history is described by embedding it in an ensemble of comparable imagined fine-grained histories, not unlike the familiar ensemble of statistical mechanics. These histories are assigned extended probabilities, which can sometimes be negative or greater than one. As we will show, this construction implies that the real history is not completely accessible to experimental or other observational dis…
We use the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory to compute the probability of a non-relativistic particle crossing $x=0$ during an interval of time. For a system consisting of a single non-relativistic particle, histories coarse-grained according to whether or not they pass through spacetime regions are generally not decoherent, except for very special initial states, and thus probabilities cannot be assigned. Decoherence may, however, be achieved by coupling the particle to an environment consisting of a set of harmonic oscillators in a thermal bath. Probabilities for spacetime coa…
Assessing the role of interference in natural and artificial quantum dyanamical processes is a crucial task in quantum information theory. To this aim, an appopriate formalism is provided by the decoherent histories framework. While this approach has been deeply explored from different theoretical perspectives, it still lacks of a comprehensive set of tools able to concisely quantify the amount of coherence developed by a given dynamics. In this paper we introduce and test different measures of the (average) coherence present in dissipative (Markovian) quantum evolutions, at various time scale…
Quantum open systems are described in the Markovian limit by master equations in Lindblad form. I argue that common ``quantum jumps'' techniques, which solve the master equation by unraveling its evolution into stochastic trajectories in Hilbert space, correspond closely to a particular set of decoherent histories. This is illustrated by a simple model of a photon counting experiment.
Using the Gell-Mann and Hartle formalism of generalized quantum mechanics of closed systems, we study coarse-grained decoherent histories. The system under consideration is one-dimensional and consists of a particle coupled to a von Neumann apparatus that measures its position. The particle moves in a quadratic potential; in particular we consider a driven harmonic oscillator. The real line is divided into intervals of the same length, and coarse-grained histories are defined by the arithmetic average of the initial and final position of the particle to be within one of these intervals. The po…
The theory of decoherent histories is an attempt to derive classical physics from positing only quantum laws at the fundamental level without notions of a classical apparatus or collapse of the wave-function. Searching for a marked target in a list of N items requires Ω(N) oracle queries when using a classical computer, while a quantum computer can accomplish the same task in O{\sqrt{N}} queries using Grover's quantum algorithm. We study a closed quantum system executing Grover algorithm in the framework of decoherent histories and find it to be an exactly solvable model, thus yielding an alte…
This paper explores the possibility that an exactly decoherent set of histories may be constructed from an approximately decoherent set by small distortions of the operators characterizing the histories. In particular, for the case of histories of positions and momenta, this is achieved by doubling the set of operators and then finding, amongst this enlarged set, new position and momentum operators which commute, so decohere exactly, and which are ``close'' to the original operators. The enlarged, exactly decoherent, theory has the same classical dynamics as the original one, and coincides wit…
We use the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory to derive the form of an effective theory describing the coupling of classical and quantum variables. The derivation is carried out for a system consisting of a large particle coupled to a small particle with the important additional feature that the large particle is also coupled to a thermal environment producing the decoherence necessary for classicality. The effective theory is obtained by tracing out both the environment and the small particle variables. It consists of a formula for the probabilities of a set of histories of the l…
We analyse the quantum evolution of a particle moving in a potential in interaction with an environment of harmonic oscillators in a thermal state, using the quantum state diffusion (QSD) picture of Gisin and Percival, in which one associates the usual Markovian master equation for the density operator with a class of stochastic non-linear Schrödinger equations. We find stationary solutions to the Ito equation which are Gaussians, localized around a point in phase space undergoing classical Brownian motion. We show that every initial state approaches these stationary solutions in the long time…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) in quantum systems, such as ferromagnets, is normally described as (or as arising from) degeneracy of the ground state; however, it is well established that this degeneracy only occurs in spatially infinite systems, and even better established that ferromagnets are not spatially infinite. I review this well-known paradox, and consider a popular solution where the symmetry is explicitly broken by some external field which goes to zero in the infinite-volume limit; although this is formally satisfactory, I argue that it must be rejected as a physical explanati…
Recent results on the decoherent histories quantization of simple cosmological models (minisuperspace models) are described. The most important issue is the construction, from the wave function, of a probability distribution answering various questions of physical interest, such as the probability of the system entering a given region of configuration space at any stage in its entire history. A standard but heuristic procedure is to use the flux of (components of) the wave function in a WKB approximation as the probability. This gives sensible semiclassical results but lacks an underlying oper…
The theory of decoherent histories is checked for the requirement of statistical independence of subsystems. Strikingly, this is satisfied only when the decoherence functional is diagonal in both its real a n d imaginary parts. In particular, the condition of consistency (or weak decoherence) required for the assignment of probabilities appears to be ruled out. The same conclusion is obtained independently, by claiming a plausible dynamical robustness of decoherent histories.
We investigate the possibility of assigning consistent probabilities to sets of histories characterized by whether they enter a particular subspace of the Hilbert space of a closed system during a given time interval. In particular we investigate the case that this subspace is a region of the configuration space. This corresponds to a particular class of coarse grainings of spacetime regions. We consider the arrival time problem and the problem of time in reparametrization invariant theories as for example in canonical quantum gravity. Decoherence conditions and probabilities for those applica…
We study and compare the decoherent histories approach, the environment-induced decoherence and the localization properties of thesolutions to the stochastic Schrödinger equation in quantum jump simulationand quantum state diffusion approaches, for a quantum two-level system model. We show, in particular, that there is a close connection between the decoherent histories and the quantum jump simulation, complementing a connection with the quantum state diffusion approach noted earlier by Diósi, Gisin, Halliwell and Percival. In the case of the decoherent histories analysis, the degree of approx…
We consider a number of aspects of the problem of defining time observables in quantum theory. Time observables are interesting quantities in quantum theory because they often cannot be associated with self-adjoint operators. Their definition therefore touches on foundational issues in quantum theory. Various operational approaches to defining time observables have been proposed in the past. Two of the most common are those based on pulsed measurements in the form of strings of projection operators and continuous measurements in the form of complex potentials. One of the major achievements of …
In the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory, attention focuses on the conditions under which probabilities may be assigned to sets of quantum histories. A variety of conditions have been proposed, but the most important one is decoherence, which means that the interference between every pair of histories in the set is zero. Weaker conditions have been considered, such as consistency, or linear positivity, but these are ruled out by the requirement of consistent composition of subsystems, proposed by Diosi. Here we propose a new condition which we call partial decoherence, and is the…
We extend previous work on the arrival time problem in quantum mechanics, in the framework of decoherent histories, to the case of a particle coupled to an environment. The usual arrival time probabilities are related to the probability current, so we explore the properties of the current for general open systems that can be written in terms of a master equation of Lindblad form. We specialise to the case of quantum Brownian motion, and show that after a time of order the localisation time the current becomes positive. We show that the arrival time probabilities can then be written in terms of…
Within the decoherent histories formulation of quantum mechanics, we investigate necessary conditions for decoherence of arbitrarily long histories. We prove that fine-grained histories of arbitrary length decohere for all classical initial states if and only if the unitary evolution preserves classicality of states (using a natural formal definition of classicality). We give a counterexample showing that this equivalence does not hold for coarse-grained histories.
This paper relates both to the metaphysics of probability and to the physics of time asymmetry. Using the formalism of decoherent histories, it investigates whether intuitions about intrinsic time directedness that are often associated with probability can be justified in the context of no-collapse approaches to quantum mechanics. The standard (two-vector) approach to time symmetry in the decoherent histories literature is criticised, and an alternative approach is proposed, based on two decoherence conditions ('forwards' and 'backwards') within the one-vector formalism. In turn, consideration…
Within the decoherent histories formulation of quantum mechanics, we consider arbitrarily long histories constructed from a fixed projective partition of a finite-dimensional Hilbert space. We review some of the decoherence properties of such histories including simple necessary decoherence conditions and the dependence of decoherence on the initial state. Here we make a first step towards generalization of our earlier results [Scherer and Soklakov, e-print: quant-ph/0405080, (2004) and Scherer et al., Phys. Lett. A, vol. 326, 307, (2004)] to the case of approximate decoherence.
In this paper we present a first-principles analysis of the nonequilibrium work distribution and the free energy difference of a quantum system interacting with a general environment (with arbitrary spectral density and for all temperatures) based on a well-understood micro-physics (quantum Brownian motion) model under the conditions stipulated by the Jarzynski equality [C. Jarzynski, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2690 (1997)] and Crooks' fluctuation theorem [G. E. Crooks, Phys. Rev. E 60, 2721 (1999)] (in short FTs). We use the decoherent history conceptual framework to explain how the notion of traje…
In investigations of the emergence of classicality from quantum theory, a useful step is the construction of quantum operators corresponding to the classical notion that the system resides in a region of phase space. The simplest such constructions, using coherent states, yield operators which are approximate projection operators -- their eigenvalues are approximately equal to 1 or 0. Such projections may be shown to have close to classical behaviour under time evolution and these results have been used to prove some useful results about emergent classicality in the decoherent histories approa…
A recent claim by Bassi and Ghirardi that the consistent (decoherent) histories approach cannot provide a realistic interpretation of quantum theory is shown to be based upon a misunderstanding of the single-framework rule: they have replaced the correct rule with a principle which directly contradicts it. It is their assumptions, not those of the consistent histories approach, which lead to a logical contradiction.
The best developed formulation of closed system quantum theory that handles multiple-time statements, is the consistent (or decoherent) histories approach. The most important weaknesses of the approach is that it gives rise to many different consistent sets, and it has been argued that a complete interpretation should be accompanied with a natural mechanism leading to a (possibly) unique preferred consistent set. The existence of multiple consistent sets becomes more problematic because it allows the existence of contrary inferences (Kent 1997). We analyse the conceptual difficulties that aris…
We introduce a condition for the strong decoherence of a set of alternative histories of a closed quantum-mechanical system such as the universe. The condition applies, for a pure initial state, to sets of homogeneous histories that are chains of projections, generally branch-dependent. Strong decoherence implies the consistency of probability sum rules but not every set of consistent or even medium decoherent histories is strongly decoherent. Two conditions characterize a strongly decoherent set of histories: (1) At any time the operators that effectively commute with generalized records of h…
In a many-worlds framework, combining decoherent histories and extreme-value statistics, it is conjectured that the (matrix) dimension of the Hamiltonian processing records and memories near the end of an observer's history is almost entirely located in a single branch of his/her wavefunction.
We review the application of the consistent (or decoherent) histories formulation of quantum theory to canonical loop quantum cosmology. Conventional quantum theory relies crucially on "measurements" to convert unrealized quantum potentialities into physical outcomes that can be assigned probabilities. In the early universe and other physical contexts in which there are no observers or measuring apparatus (or indeed, in any closed quantum system), what criteria determine which alternative outcomes may be realized and what their probabilities are? In the consistent histories formulation it is t…
An example shows that weak decoherence is more restrictive than the minimal logical decoherence structure that allows probabilities to be used consistently for quantum histories. The probabilities in the sum rules that define minimal decoherence are all calculated by using a projection operator to describe each possibility for the state at each time. Weak decoherence requires more sum rules. They bring in additional variables, that require different measurements and a different way to calculate probabilities, and raise questions of operational meaning. The example shows that extending the line…
In the context of the decoherent histories approach to the quantum mechanics of closed systems, Gell-Mann and Hartle have argued that the variables typically characterizing the quasiclassical domain of a large complex system are the integrals over small volumes of locally conserved densities -- hydrodynamic variables. The aim of this paper is to exhibit some simple models in which approximate decoherence arises as a result of local conservation. We derive a formula which shows the explicit connection between local conservation and approximate decoherence. We then consider a class of models con…
In the consistent histories (CH) approach to quantum theory probabilities are assigned to histories subject to a consistency condition of negligible interference. The approach has the feature that a given physical situation admits multiple sets of consistent histories that cannot in general be united into a single consistent set, leading to a number of counter-intuitive or contrary properties if propositions from different consistent sets are combined indiscriminately. An alternative viewpoint is proposed in which multiple consistent sets are classified according to whether or not there exists…
