Overturning the measurement postulate: continuous thermodynamic localization vs. wavefunction collapse and statistical ensembles

Abstract The quantum measurement postulate remains a fundamental physical contradiction, enforcing a non-unitary, observer-dependent projection that interrupts the continuous dynamical evolution governed by the Schrödinger equation. In this work, we demonstrate that the orthodox instantaneous collapse postulate is both a thermodynamic impossibility and a logical redundancy. The observer-dependent actualization of macroscopic particle ensembles would require an instantaneous deposition of latent heat ( $$dt \rightarrow 0$$ d t → 0 ), triggering an unphysical, infinite power divergence that delivers a macroscopic thermal shock, fundamentally contradicting the thermodynamic stability of the apparatus. Moreover, because an unobserved apparatus must undergo continuous open-system thermodynamic relaxation prior to conscious inspection, any subsequent mathematical projection is theoretically obsolete. Furthermore, we mathematically invalidate leading alternative theories, proving that mean-field thermodynamic ensemble models (such as the Allahverdyan, Balian, and Nieuwenhuizen formalism) fundamentally contradict their own claims: while explicitly attempting to derive the probabilistic actualization dictated by the Born rule, they inadvertently force deterministic single-run outcomes. We emphasize that our critique and the theoretical framework proposed herein are explicitly directed at the objective actualization of individual quantum systems. Consequently, the purely statistical ensemble interpretation—which conceptually bypasses the single-run measurement problem—falls outside the scope of the present analysis. To replace these untenable paradigms, we establish the Open-System Measurement Framework (OSMF), shifting the focus entirely to the continuous, objective physical evolution of the individual wavefunction. We demonstrate that the quantum system-apparatus interaction generates a transient, thermodynamically unstable macroscopic superposition. Driven by its coupling to a reservoir, this state rapidly undergoes a continuous thermodynamic relaxation into a stable local minimum of its thermodynamic potential, actualizing a definite outcome. By applying the OSMF to canonical experiments, we prove that measurement is an objective, irreversible process. Crucially, this framework seamlessly reconciles Bell-type non-local correlations (the EPR paradox) with the strict causal constraints of special relativity by providing a local, continuous physical mechanism for outcome actualization.