Entropy-Induced Wavefunction Collapse: A Thermodynamic Resolution of the Quantum Measurement Problem

Tariq, Waleed Mahmud (2025) Entropy-Induced Wavefunction Collapse: A Thermodynamic Resolution of the Quantum Measurement Problem. [Preprint]

Text
Entropy Induced Wavefunction Collapse.docx - Submitted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (859kB)

Official URL: http://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202505.1572.v1

Abstract

One of the most elusive questions in Quantum mechanics has been: why do quantum systems that can exist in many states at once (like Schrödinger’s cat being both alive and dead) appear to “collapse” into a single outcome when measured?

This paper argues that instead of assuming that “collapse” happens as an unexplained process, wavefunction collapse is not a fundamental event, but a natural consequence of thermodynamics, the same laws that govern heat, disorder, and irreversibility.

Primarily, when we measure a quantum system, we entangle it with a measuring device and its environment. If this process produces enough entropy (a kind of disorder or lost information), then the system becomes effectively classical. It looks like the wavefunction has collapsed, though in truth, the global quantum state remains untouched. What we experience as a single outcome is actually the result of irreversible entropy hiding the quantum coherence from view.

The paper proposes a precise equation that links how much coherence remains in a system to how much entropy the environment has absorbed. Once a minimal threshold is crossed (about the same as recording one bit of information), the quantum system becomes practically indistinguishable from a classical one. That’s when “collapse” becomes irreversible—for all practical purposes.

This approach unifies ideas from quantum physics, thermodynamics, and information theory. It doesn’t require adding any new physics; no hidden variables, no many worlds, no mysterious consciousness-induced effects. Instead, it reframes collapse as a thermodynamic phase transition, offering a testable and intuitive path to resolving one of physics' most stubborn puzzles.

In short: collapse isn’t magic. It’s heat.

Export/Citation:

Social Networking:

Share |

Item Type:

Preprint

Creators:

Creators	Email	ORCID
Tariq, Waleed Mahmud	waleed_tariq2247@outlook.com	0009-0000-2123-7291

Keywords:

Quantum Measurement Problem Quantum Decoherence Entropy and Coherence Born Rule Derivation Thermodynamic Irreversibility Open Quantum Systems Environment-Induced Collapse Envariance Maximum Entropy Principle CPTP Maps Trace Norm Coherence Fluctuation Theorems Crooks Relation Quantum Foundations Quantum Information Theory Lindblad Dynamics Quantum Thermodynamics Quantum Epistemology Emergent Classicality Measurement Entropy Quantum Collapse Von Neumann Entropy Relative Entropy of Coherence Resource Theory of Coherence Observer-Relative Collapse

Subjects:

Specific Sciences > Physics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics

Depositing User:

Mr. Waleed Mahmud Tariq

Date Deposited:

22 May 2025 12:49

Last Modified:

22 May 2025 12:49

Item ID:

25421

Official URL:

http://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202505.1572.v1