Considerations on localization of macroscopic bodies

Abstract

Position holds a very special role in understanding the classical behaviour of macroscopic bodies on the basis of quantum principles. This lead us to examine the localised states of a large condensed object in the context of a realistic model. Following the argument that an isolated macroscopic body is usually described by a linear superposition of low-lying energy eigenstates, it has been found that localised states of this type correspond to a nearly minimum-uncertainty state for the center of mass. An indication is also given of the dependence of the center of mass position spread on the number of constituent particles. This paper is not offered as an answer to the intriguing question of the preferred role played by the position basis, but will hopefully provide some contribution to the quantum modelling of multi-particle systems.