Physics
Schrödinger's cat
A 3D thought experiment about superposition, decoherence and measurement. Compare coherent and mixed states and collect outcome statistics.
What happens
A 3D thought experiment about superposition, decoherence and measurement. Compare coherent and mixed states and collect outcome statistics.
Z counts: alive / dead. X counts: + / −. The analyser is an ideal operation on both complete branches, not a feasible experiment with a cat. Dephasing suppresses interference; it does not by itself select an outcome. Times are illustrative.
Try this
Two displays represent possible outcomes of one thought experiment. Compare a coherent state with a mixture, then add dephasing or reveal one outcome.
Equations used in the module
Equations ρ = [[p, c√(p(1−p)) e^(−iφ)], [c√(p(1−p)) e^(iφ), 1−p]] p(t) = exp(−∫ λ dt); λ = ln(2)/T½ c(t) = c(0) exp(−∫ γ dt) V = 2|ρ₀₁|; P(+) = 1/2 + Re(ρ₀₁) Tr(ρ²) = p² + (1−p)² + 2|ρ₀₁|²
