Abstract
Wave function (WF) is usually accepted to be the amplitude of probability density of a particle at a given point of phase space. This assertion is often referred to as Born postulate (BP) which is one of foundations of quantum mechanics. It is obvious that BP requires the normalization of WF to the number of indistinguishable particles in the object under study. But calculation methods of quantum mechanics require normalization to unit regardless of the number of electrons in the atom. The simplest way to solve this contradiction is to reject BP and acknowledge that normalization of WF has no relation to the number of particles in the object under consideration. This contradiction was not noticed until now because BP was tested for WF of single particles only.
Highlights
In this article, we will consider the following well known assertion: value of wave function of (WF) of a particle at a given point of phase space represents the amplitude of probability density of the particle to be at this point, see e g [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
This assertion can be considered as definition of Born postulate (BP) which is usually considered as important part of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics [8]
As the simplest step toward the solution of the raised problem, we can acknowledge that BP is merely an unfounded verbal interpretation of the quantity ψ 2 and nothing more
Summary
We will consider the following well known assertion: value of wave function of (WF) of a particle at a given point of phase space represents the amplitude of probability density of the particle to be at this point, see e g [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. This assertion can be considered as definition of Born postulate (BP) which is usually considered as important part of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics [8].
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