Philosophical, theoretical and experimental propositions on wavefunction collapse

Collapse models are posited as a resolution to the measurement problem. On one level, they offer a clear, simple and testable resolution to an age-old problem. Yet at the same time, they raise many new questions of their own - what is the origin of the putative noise field? What are its properties, and why ought it couple to wavefunctions in this particular way, inducing collapse in some analogue of the position basis? How might these models be extended to the realm of relativity without incurring catastrophe? What sort of image of the world do they deliver? In this thesis we begin with a philosophical exploration of collapse theories. We examine, in detail, the relationship between stochastic noise fields and the evolution of the wavefunction - shedding light both on the solutions offered by collapse models and the new issues which they raise. We discuss the possibilities for constructing an ontology based on these theories, and look at possible implications for the arrow of time and the meaning of causation. This in turn motivates the development of protocols for experiments which might be capable of probing these models; to new degrees in some senses, and in new forms in others. We develop a comprehensive theoretical model of a levitated nanosphere held in an electric quadrupole trap, and find the limits to which this can probe the characteristic collapse rate $\lambda$ and correlation length $r$ of collapse models. Further, we develop a novel treatment of this scenario in the style of open quantum systems, and show that such an apparatus can constitute a general quantum spectrometer, capable of characterising arbitrary correlation functions for a noise source coupled to the oscillator - whether that noise be invoked by collapse models or other, more mundane sources. Finally, we utilise numerical simulations of trap dynamics to demonstrate the capabilities of electronic feedback cooling - showing that quantum states ought to be achievable without the use of optics. This work is motivated by a desire to understand the world, and specifically to address some of the paradoxes which arise when we try to use quantum mechanics to do so. We have aimed to follow what we see as best practice in physics - from a motivation within philosophy, to the development of theory capable of meeting that philosophy, to the design of experiments which would be able to speak to the relationship between that theory and the world.Open Acces