Emergent quantum probability from full quantum dynamics and the role of energy conservation

Abstract

Abstract We propose and study a toy model for the quantum measurements that yield the Born’s rule of quantum probability. In this model, the electrons interact with local photon modes and the photon modes are dissipatively coupled with local photon reservoirs. We treat the interactions of the electrons and photons with full quantum mechanical description, while the dissipative dynamics of the photon modes are treated via the Lindblad master equation. By assigning double quantum dots setup for the electrons coupling with local photons and photonic reservoirs, we show that the Born’s rule of quantum probability can emerge directly from microscopic quantum dynamics. We further discuss how the microscopic quantities such as the electron–photon coupling, detuning, and photon dissipation rate affect the quantum dynamics. Surprisingly, in the infinite long time measurement limit, the energy conservation already dictates the emergence of the Born’s rule of quantum probability. For finite-time measurement, the local photon dissipation rate determines the characteristic time-scale for the completion of the measurement, while other microscopic quantities affect the measurement dynamics. Therefore, in genuine measurements, the measured probability is determined by both the local devices and the quantum mechanical wavefunction.