Scientists from the Australian National University conducted a study suggesting that our stable classical world may be the result of processes that occur at the quantum level as part of the interpretation of the multi-world theory of quantum mechanics. According to this theory, every time a quantum event occurs, parallel worlds arise in which all probable outcomes are possible. However, the question remains how the stable classical reality to which we are accustomed can be associated with this endless variety of worlds.
A study under the leadership of Philip Strassberg from Barcelona Autonomous University, showed that the occurrence can be explained by simulations Sustainable macroscopic structures from quantum systems. This is just as water jets are formed during watering from a watering can: at least individual drops behave randomly, stable flows are formed on a large scale. Scientists simulated the behavior of a wave function based on a large number of energy levels and found that even in the absence of specific initial conditions or the influence of the external environment, stable structures that are visible at the macroscopic level arise.
Traditionally, the transition from quantum to classical is explained by the interaction of quantum objects with the environment, which hides their quantum properties. However, the approach based on the “Wednesday decorations” requires an accurate setting of the initial conditions and the selection of specific interactions, which limits its use. The study of Stratsberg and his team shows that in a wide range of conditions, the wave function can evolve in such a way that stable large-scale structures arise that are not dependent on the initial parameters.
Modeling of the evolution of quantum systems was carried out using powerful computing systems that allowed to process a wave function involving more than 50,000 energy levels. Although this scale is still far from classical phenomena of everyday life, it gives an idea of how stable structures from quantum chaos can occur.
It is interesting that the results of the study are also associated with one of the fundamental concepts of statistical mechanics – an arrow of time, which determines the direction of the temporary flow. Within the framework of the simulations, branches were found, where entropy either increases or decreases, which leads to two types of worlds with opposite directions of time. These worlds, as scientists suggest, coexist in a single multi-senior time symmetrical in time.
Despite the impressive results, unresolved issues remain. In particular, it is not yet clear why it is our world that has the laws of conservation of energy and certain probabilistic characteristics, such as a rule of the borne.