Relativistic quantum measurement

Abstract

Does the measurement of a quantum system necessarily break Lorentz invariance? We present a simple model of a detector that measures the spacetime localization of a relativistic particle in a Lorentz invariant manner. The detector does not select a preferred Lorentz frame as a Newton-Wigner measurement would do. The result indicates that there exists a Lorentz invariant notion of quantum measurement and sheds light on the issue of the localization of a relativistic particle. The framework considered is that of single-particle mechanics as opposed to field theory. The result may be taken as support for the interpretation postulate of the spacetime-states formulation of single-particle quantum theory.