Extension of Quantum Mechanics to Individual Systems

Abstract

The Copenhagen Interpretation describes individual systems, using the same Hilbert space formalism as does the statistical ensemble interpretation (SQM). This leads to the well-known paradoxes surrounding the Measurement Problem. We extend this common mathematical structure to encompass certain natural bundles with connections over the Hilbert sphere S. This permits a consistent extension of the statistical interpretation to interacting individual systems, thereby resolving these paradoxes. Suppose V is a physical system in interaction with another system W. The state vector of V+W has a set of polar decompositions with a vector q of complex coefficients. These are parameterized by the right toroid T of amplitudes q, and comprise a singular toroidal bundle over S, which comprises the enlarged state space of V+W. We prove that each T has a unique natural convex partition yielding the correct SQM probabilities. In the extended theory V and W synchronously assume pure spectral states according to which member of the partition contains q. The apparent indeterminism of SQM is thus attributable to the effectively random distribution of initial phases.