Spanish scientists claim to have solved the paradox of Schrödinger's cat: we are in a multiverse

Theoretical physicists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain claim that they can finally explain why Schrödinger's cat always appears in the same state whenever it is observed. According to them, we are in a multiverse.

Their proposal is largely based on the assumption that each possibility of a quantum system is a universe in itself. That is, we are talking about a concept known as the theory of multiple worlds, ScienceAlert writes.

In 1935, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger proposed an experiment that later became known as the Schrödinger cat paradox. To illustrate the paradoxical nature of this concept, the physicist imagined a cat in a closed box. It also contained a radioactive atom with a 50% chance of decay and a detector that, if it detected decay, would activate a mechanism that would release a poisonous gas and kill the cat. According to quantum mechanics, until the box is opened and observed, the cat should be both alive and dead at the same time – it is in a state of superposition.

Schrödinger used this thought experiment to emphasize how strange and unusual quantum mechanics is when viewed from the perspective of classical physics. The paradox of Schrödinger's cat has become a kind of symbol of the complexity and disagreements in the understanding of quantum phenomena, leaving open many questions that are still being discussed in scientific circles.

The proposal of theoretical physicists is based on the assumption that each possibility of a quantum system constitutes the Universe itself, and that we are in a multiverse. Based on this, Philip Strasberg, Therese E. Reinhardt, and Joseph Schindler use first principles to show how the entanglement of particles in the existing landscape pulls Schrödinger's cat out of its own equation, unambiguously dead or alive, but never in a state of "in between."

Some of the earliest debates in quantum physics revolved around how to interpret uncertainty. One attempt to make sense of this distinction in reality is to imagine all the possible states of a particle as equivalent, each representing its own private universe. Out of these many worlds, only one is woven into ours when it encounters our own vast network of established possibilities, earning the right to be considered "real."

In the team's numerical demonstration, the net scale of interactions rapidly grows in a way that overwhelms the possibilities until only single states remain. In other words, given the complexity of the universe surrounding Schrödinger's cat, which includes the cage, the observers, the building they are in, and more, the rapidly increasing interactions between the environment and the live and dead states over time means that the two states will not appear as a mixture.

In fact, this merging of worlds occurs at such a small level that a relatively small number of particles can quickly smooth out the fuzziness of an indeterminate state, making the quantum fog virtually disappear on the smallest scales.

"Since everyday objects contain a huge number of particles, this explains why the multiverse is not directly perceived by us," the scientists write in their article.

At first glance, it seems that the problem is solved, but it is not. Although the hypothesis helps us visualize the choice of one state from a lottery of countless possibilities, the explanation is still based on the assumption that all universes behave in this way. These universes also do not take into account the complexities of general relativity.

It is still possible to imagine that the right combination of entangled states could still produce a mixture of a live and a dead cat, or at least it is not impossible. There is also the question of how much quantum randomness can affect a macroscopic reality like ours.

However, this is not the first time that theoretical physicists have suggested the need to incorporate larger-scale representations of existing states to understand why an indefinite quantum blur suddenly stops at a single measurement.

Schrödinger's cat will remain an enigma in physics for a long time to come, rolling over in its grave as a perfect metaphor for the field of physics that remains rich in possibilities.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!