The universal wavefunction (or wave function), introduced by
Hugh Everett
Hugh Everett III (; November 11, 1930 – July 19, 1982) was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum physics, which he termed his "relative state" formulation. In contrast to the then-dominant Cope ...
in his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
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thesis ''The Theory of the Universal Wave Function,'' informs a core concept in the
relative state interpretationHugh Everett
Hugh Everett III (; November 11, 1930 – July 19, 1982) was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum physics, which he termed his "relative state" formulation. In contrast to the then-dominant Cope ...
, Relative State Formulation of Quantum Mechanics, ''Reviews of Modern Physics'' vol 29, (1957) pp 454–462. An abridged summary of ''The Theory of the Universal Wavefunction'' or
many-worlds interpretation
The many-worlds interpretation (MWI) is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts that the universal wavefunction is objectively real, and that there is no wave function collapse. This implies that all possible outcomes of quantum ...
of
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
. It later received investigation from
James Hartle
James Burkett Hartle (August 20, 1939) is an American physicist. He has been a professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara since 1966, and he is currently a member of the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute. Hartle ...
and
Stephen Hawking in which they derived a specific solution to the
Wheeler–deWitt equation
The Wheeler–DeWitt equation for theoretical physics and applied mathematics, is a field equation attributed to John Archibald Wheeler and Bryce DeWitt. The equation attempts to mathematically combine the ideas of quantum mechanics and gene ...
to explain the initial conditions of the
Big Bang
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
cosmology.
Everett's thesis introduction reads:
The universal wave function is the
wavefunction
A wave function in quantum physics is a mathematical description of the quantum state of an isolated quantum system. The wave function is a complex-valued probability amplitude, and the probabilities for the possible results of measurements ...
or
quantum state
In quantum physics, a quantum state is a mathematical entity that provides a probability distribution for the outcomes of each possible measurement on a system. Knowledge of the quantum state together with the rules for the system's evolution i ...
of the totality of existence, regarded as the "basic physical entity" or "the fundamental entity, obeying at all times a deterministic wave equation."
[Everett ]956
Year 956 ( CMLVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Summer – Emperor Constantine VII appoints Nikephoros Phokas to commander of th ...
973, "Theory of the Universal Wavefunction", chapter 6 (e)
Everett's response to Streater
Ray Streater
Raymond Frederick "Ray" Streater (born 1936) is a British physicist, and professor emeritus of Applied Mathematics at King's College London. He is best known for co-authoring a text on quantum field theory, the 1964 ''PCT, Spin and Statistics ...
writes:
Hugh Everett
Hugh Everett III (; November 11, 1930 – July 19, 1982) was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum physics, which he termed his "relative state" formulation. In contrast to the then-dominant Cope ...
's response:
See also
*
Hartle–Hawking state
The Hartle–Hawking state is a proposal in theoretical physics concerning the state of the Universe prior to the Planck epoch. It is named after James Hartle and Stephen Hawking.
Hartle and Hawking suggest that if we could travel backwards in t ...
*
Heisenberg cut
References
{{Reflist
Quantum measurement