Macroscopic Reality in Quantum Mechanics; Origin and Dissipation

Abstract

We study the connection between dissipation and reality in macroscopic quantum systems. We present the following scenario; if we consider the dynamics of a `partial' wave function, the dissipation is represented as a nonlocal term and it causes destructive interference to suppress the quantum fluctuation. Using the variational method, we confirm that this dissipation term is a reasonable extension of the standard (Schr\"odinger) description for isolated systems, from which we also derive the classical action. Consequently, in macroscopic systems, the states whose time-integrated dissipation takes an extreme value come true. This description, which is consistent with our sense of reality, coexists with the usual linear-time-dependent description.