On the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics and the notion of closed systems (Q261975)

The notion of ``closed system'' in Quantum Mechanics is discussed. Two models of a quantum mechanical system \(P\) spatially far separated from the ``rest of the universe'' \(Q\) are studied. Under reasonable assumptions on the interaction between \(P\) and \(Q\), it is shown that the system \(P\) behaves as a closed system if the initial state of \(P\vee Q\) belongs to a large class of states, including ones exhibiting entanglement between \(P\) and \(Q\). The results are used to illustrate the non-deterministic nature of quantum mechanics. It is also shown that that assigning an initial state and a unitary time evolution to a quantum system is generally not sufficient to predict the results of a measurement with certainty.