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Instantaneous Spreading and Einstein Causality in Quantum Theory

Gerhard C. Hegerfeldt
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Abstract

In nonrelativistic quantum mechanics the wave-function of a free particle which initially is in a finite volume immediately spreads to infinity. In a nonrelativistic theory this is of no concern, but we show that the same instantaneous spreading can occur in relativistic quantum theory and that transition probabilities in widely separated systems may instantaneously become nonzero. We discuss how this affects Einstein causality.

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Gerhard C. Hegerfeldt. 1998-09-11. Instantaneous Spreading and Einstein Causality in Quantum Theory. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1521-3889(199812)7%3A7%2F8%3C716%3A%3Aaid-andp716%3E3.0.co%3B2-t

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