Heading towards an Algebraic Heisenberg Cut

Abstract

In previous papers we have explained how a sequence of theorems by John von Neumann on infinite tensor products (ITP) can be understood as providing elements to support both sectorisation of the Hilbert space of large quantum systems, and a mechanism of self decoherence thereof. These two effects may help understanding the articulation of the classical and quantum realms. However, as they involve considering an infinite number of quantum degrees of freedom, legitimate concerns can be raised on their applicability. In this paper, we address explicitly the interface between both realms through the example of a simplified model of a photon polarisation measurement device. Guided by the fact that there is von Neumann sectorisation at infinity, and by the necessity of classical contexts to perform measurements, we show that this limit can be under control, and that although the full force of the sectorisation theorems requires taking the infinite limit, early signs of the macroscopic behaviour appear before infinity. In our example, this shows up in photodiodes through diverging electron avalanches that simultaneously make the system classical, localise it randomly in a macroscopic sector and provide a macroscopic signal. This lays the grounds for justifying the inclusion in quantum physics of the ITP formalism, which involves non-separable Hilbert spaces and potentially type-III von Neumann algebras. Such an approach could make sense of the quantum-classical transition as a primarily algebraic one.