Version 1
: Received: 15 May 2023 / Approved: 16 May 2023 / Online: 16 May 2023 (05:18:18 CEST)
How to cite:
Schonfeld, J.F. Extension of the Mott Problem from Cloud Chamber to Geiger Counter. Preprints2023, 2023051097. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1097.v1
Schonfeld, J.F. Extension of the Mott Problem from Cloud Chamber to Geiger Counter. Preprints 2023, 2023051097. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1097.v1
Schonfeld, J.F. Extension of the Mott Problem from Cloud Chamber to Geiger Counter. Preprints2023, 2023051097. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1097.v1
APA Style
Schonfeld, J.F. (2023). Extension of the Mott Problem from Cloud Chamber to Geiger Counter. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1097.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Schonfeld, J.F. 2023 "Extension of the Mott Problem from Cloud Chamber to Geiger Counter" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1097.v1
Abstract
I extend earlier work that derived a Born rule for nuclear-decay cloud chamber tracks (Mott problem) without invoking quantum measurement axioms. The key ingredient there was the identification of sites at which the cross section for ionization by a passing charged particle is singular at ionization threshold. This singularity arose from a Penning-like process involving molecular polarization in sub-critical vapor clusters. In the present paper, I propose a simple experiment to determine if similar ionization physics takes place in the mica window of a Geiger counter and drives the collimation of spherically-symmetric wavefunctions outside the counter tube into ion tracks inside. The experiment measures the count rate from a radioactive point source as a function of source-window separation. I have performed a proof-of-concept of this experiment; results are consistent with the singular-ionization picture. I consider implications for the Stern-Gerlach experiment and superconducting qubits. I detail further work required to flesh out these results more rigorously.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
