Probability distribution of arrival times in quantum mechanics

Probability distribution of arrival times in quantum mechanics

In a previous paper [V. Delgado and J. G. Muga, Phys. Rev. A 56, 3425 (1997)] we introduced a self-adjoint operator T̂ (X) whose eigenstates can be used to define consistently a probability distribution of the time of arrival at a given spatial point. In the present work we show that the probability distribution previously proposed can be well understood on classical grounds in the sense that it...

Quantum probability distribution of arrival times and probability current density

Agreement with a conclusive experimental test is the ultimate requirement for establishing the validity of any theoretical proposal. However, discriminating experimentally among different alternatives is not always a straightforward matter. Indeed, under arbitrary experimental conditions it might be no possible to distinguish sufficiently among different conceivable alternatives as to guarantee...

Arrival Time in Quantum Mechanics

Time of arrival in quantum mechanics.

We study the problem of computing the probability for the time-of-arrival of a quantum particle at a given spatial position. We consider a solution to this problem based on the spectral decomposition of the particle's (Heisenberg) state into the eigenstates of a suitable operator, which we denote as the \time-of-arrival" operator. We discuss the general properties of this operator. We construct...

Probability in modal interpretations of quantum mechanics

Modal interpretations have the ambition to construe quantum mechanics as an objective, man-independent description of physical reality. Their second leading idea is probabilism: quantum mechanics does not completely fix physical reality but yields probabilities. In working out these ideas an important motif is to stay close to the standard formalism of quantum mechanics and to refrain from intr...