Deterministic Quantum Mechanics: the Mathematical Equations
Gerard t Hooft
备注：
26 pages, 2 figures, Subm. to the Article Collection: "Towards a Local Realist View of the Quantum Phenomenon", Frontiers Research Topic, ed. A.~Casado et al
Without wasting time and effort on philosophical justifications and implications, we write down the conditions for the Hamiltonian of a quantum system for rendering it mathematically equivalent to a deterministic system. These are the equations to be considered. Special attention is given to the notion of 'locality'. Various examples are worked out, followed by a systematic procedure to generate classical evolution laws and quantum Hamiltonians that are exactly equivalent. What is new here is that we consider interactions, keeping them as general as we can. The quantum systems found, form a dense set if we limit ourselves to sufficiently low energy states. The class is discrete, just because the set of deterministic models containing a finite number of classical states, is discrete. In contrast with earlier suspicions, the gravitational force turns out not to be needed for this; it suffices that the classical system act at a time scale much smaller than the inverse of the maximum scattering energies considered.
We present a simple proof of quantum contextuality for a spinless particle with a one dimensional configuration space. We then discuss how the maximally realistic deterministic quantum mechanics recently constructed by this author and V. Singh can be applied to different contexts.
A simple experiment using radioactive decay is proposed to test the possibility of a determinsistic, but chaotic, origin of quantum mechanical randomness.
Why microscopic objects exhibit wave properties (are delocalized), but macroscopic do not (are localized)? Traditional quantum mechanics attributes wave properties to all objects. When complemented with a deterministic collapse model (Quantum Stud.: Math. Found. 3, 279 (2016)) quantum mechanics can dissolve the discrepancy. Collapse in this model means contraction and occurs when the object gets in touch with other objects and satisfies a certain criterion. One single collapse usually does not suffice for localization. But the object rapidly gets in touch with other objects in a short time, le…
Bohmian mechanics is a theory that provides a consistent explanation of quantum phenomena in terms of point particles whose motion is guided by the wave function. In this theory, the state of a system of particles is defined by the actual positions of the particles and the wave function of the system; and the state of the system evolves deterministically. Thus, the Bohmian state can be compared with the state in classical mechanics, which is given by the positions and momenta of all the particles, and which also evolves deterministically. However, while in classical mechanics it is usually tak…
The conformability of angular observales (angular momentum and azimuthal angle) with the mathematical rules of quantum mechanics is a question which still rouses debates. It is valued negatively within the existing approaches which are restricted by two amendable presumptions. If the respective presumptions are removed one can obtain a general approach in which the mentioned question is valued positively.
I argue that Bohmian mechanics (or any similar pilot-wave theory) cannot reasonably be claimed to be a deterministic theory. If one assumes the "quantum equilibrium distribution" provided by the wave function of the universe, Bohmian mechanics requires an external random oracle in order to describe the (Kolmogorov-Levin-Chaitin) algorithmic randomness properties of typical outcome sequences of long runs of repeated identical experiments (which provably follow from the Born rule). This oracle lies beyond the scope of Bohmian mechanics (or any deterministic extension thereof), including the impo…
Two problems will be considered: the question of hidden parameters and the problem of Kolmogorovity of quantum probabilities. Both of them will be analyzed from the point of view of two distinct understandings of quantum mechanical probabilities. Our analysis will be focused, as a particular example, on the Aspect-type EPR experiment. It will be shown that the quantum mechanical probabilities appearing in this experiment can be consistently understood as conditional probabilities without any paradoxical consequences. Therefore, nothing implies in the Aspect experiment that quantum theory is in…
We address the question: Why are dynamical laws governing in quantum mechanics and in neuroscience of probabilistic nature instead of being deterministic? We discuss some ideas showing that the probabilistic option offers advantages over the deterministic one.
The mathematical formulation of Quantum Mechanics is derived from purely operational axioms based on a general definition of "experiment" as a set of transformations. The main ingredient of the mathematical construction is the postulated existence of "faithful states" that allows one to calibrate the experimental apparatus. Such notion is at the basis of the operational definitions of the scalar product and of the "adjoint" of a transformation.
Models for deterministic quantum mechanics of Cartan-Randers type are introduced, together with the fundamental notions of the concentration of measure theory. We explain how the application of the concentration of measure to Cartan-Randers models provides a framework from which it emerge 1. The invariance under infinitesimal diffeomorphisms of the macroscopic dynamics 2. A mechanism for reduction of the quantum state and 3. The Weak Equivalence Principle.
Probabilistic description of results of measurements and its consequences for understanding quantum mechanics are discussed. It is shown that the basic mathematical structure of quantum mechanics like the probability amplitudes, Born rule, commutation and uncertainty relations, probability density current, momentum operator, rules for including the scalar and vector potentials and antiparticles can be obtained from the probabilistic description of results of measurement of the space coordinates and time. Equations of motion of quantum mechanics, the Klein-Gordon equation, Schrodinger equation …
Several locally deterministic interpretations of quantum mechanics are presented and reviewed. The fundamental differences between these interpretations are made transparent by explicitly showing what information is carried locally by each physical system in an idealized experimental test of Bell's theorem. This also shows how each of these models can be locally causal and deterministic. First, a model is presented which avoids Bell's arguments through the assumption that space-time inflated from an initial singularity, which encapsulates the entire past light cone of every event in the univer…
After a review of the existing theory of non-inertial frames and mathematical observers in Minkowski space-time we give the explicit expression of a family of such frames obtained from the inertial ones by means of point-dependent Lorentz transformations as suggested by the locality principle. These non-inertial frames have non-Euclidean 3-spaces and contain the differentially rotating ones in Euclidean 3-spaces as a subcase. Then we discuss how to replace mathematical accelerated observers with dynamical ones (their world-lines belong to interacting particles in an isolated system) and of how…
The probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics has been a point of discussion since the earliest days of the theory. The development of quantum technologies transfer these discussions from philosophical interest to practical importance. We propose a synthesis of ideas appeared from the field's founders to modern contextual approaches. The concept is illustrated by a simple numerical experiment imitating photon interference in two beamsplitters. This example demonstrates that deterministic physical principles can replicate wavelike probabilistic effects when applied to stochastic ensembl…
Many-Worlds quantum mechanics differs from standard quantum mechanics in that in Many-Worlds, the wave function is a relative density of universes in the multiverse amplitude rather than a probability amplitude. This means that in Many-Worlds, the Born frequencies are approached rather than given a priori. Thus in Many-Worlds the rate of approach to the final frequencies can be calculated and compared with observation. I use Many-Worlds to derive the rate of approach in the double slit experiment, and show that it agrees with observation. Standard quantum theory has never been used to derive a…
The relational interpretation of quantum mechanics (RQM) has received a growing interest since its first formulation in 1996. Usually presented as an interpretational layer over the usual quantum mechanics formalism, it appears as a philosophical perspective without proper mathematical counterparts. This state of affairs has direct consequences on the scientific debate on RQM which still suffers from misunderstandings and imprecise statements. In an attempt to clarify those debates, the present paper proposes a radical reformulation of the mathematical framework of quantum mechanics which is r…
With the decline of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and the recent experiments indicating that quantum mechanics does actually embody 'objective reality', one might ask if a 'mechanical', conceptual model for quantum mechanics could be found. We propose such a model. Vacuum energy fluctuations imply mass fluctuations and, through general relativity, curvature fluctuations. And those fluctuations are indicated by fluctuations of the metric tensor. The metric tensor fluctuations can 'explain' the uncertainty relations and non-commuting properties of conjugate variables. We arg…
Generalizing de Broglie's hypothesis, we show that the basic quantum behavior of ordinary field theory can be retrieved in a semi-classical and geometrical way from the assumption of intrinsic periodicity of elementary systems. The geometrodynamical description of interactions that arises in from this approach provides an intuitive interpretation of Maldacena's conjecture and it turns out to be of the same type of the one prescribed by general relativity.
A scheme for constructing quantum mechanics is given that does not have Hilbert space and linear operators as its basic elements. Instead, a version of algebraic approach is considered. Elements of a noncommutative algebra (observables) and functionals on this algebra (elementary states) associated with results of single measurements are used as primary components of the scheme. On the one hand, it is possible to use within the scheme the formalism of the standard (Kolmogorov) probability theory, and, on the other hand, it is possible to reproduce the mathematical formalism of standard quantum…
Quantum nonclassicality is the basic building stone for the vast majority of quantum information applications and methods of its generation are at the forefront of research. One of the obstacles any method needs to clear is the looming presence of decohorence and noise which act against the nonclassicality and often erase it completely. In this paper we show that nonclassical states of a quantum harmonic oscillators initially in thermal equilibrium states can be deterministically created by coupling it to a single two level system. This can be achieved even in the absorption regime in which th…
We propose a scheme to prepare macroscopic quantum superpositions of motion in optomachanical nano- or micromechanical oscillators quadratically coupled to an intracavity field. The nonlinear optomechanical coupling leads to an effective degenerate three-wave mixing interaction between the mechanical and cavity modes. The quantum superpositions result from the combined effects of the interaction and cavity dissipation. We show analytically and confirm numerically that various deterministic quantum superpositions can be achieved, depending on initial mechanical state. The effect of mechanical d…
In the work it is shown that the principles "the objective local theory" and corollaries of the standard quantum mechanics are not in such antagonistic inconsistency as it is usually supposed. In the framework of algebraic approach, the postulates are formulated which allow constructing the updated mathematical scheme of quantum mechanics. This scheme incorporates the standard mathematical apparatus of quantum mechanics. Simultaneously, in it there is a mathematical object, which adequately describes individual experiment.
According to the widely accepted opinion, classical (statistical) physics does not support objective indeterminism, since the statistical laws of classical physics allow a deterministic hidden background, while --- as Arthur Fine writes polemizing with Grünbaum --- "{\sl the antilibertarian position finds little room to breathe in a statistical world if we take laws of the quantum theory as exemplars of the statistical laws in such a world. So, it appears that, contrary to what Grünbaum claims, the libertarians' 'could have done otherwise' does indeed find support from indeterminism if we take…
It is argued on the basis of certain mathematical characteristics that classical mechanics is not constitutionally suited to accomodate consciousness, whereas quantum mechanics is. These mathematical characteristics pertain to the nature of the information represented in the state of the brain, and the way this information enters into the dynamics.
It is given a preliminary discussion on the ontic nature of quantum states to be intended as potentialities and on the central role of spin to be considered as the basic essence of quantum mechanical reality. The possible fundamental role of potentialities and of spin is evidenced in the framework of physical as well as of biological reality. After such preliminary deepening, using a quantum like scheme delineated on the basis of an algebraic structure, it is given for the first time mathematical demonstration of the transition from potentiality of states to their actualization as basic mechan…
Discrete quantum mechanics is here defined to be a quantum theory of wave functions defined on integers P_i and Q_i, while canonical quantum mechanics is assumed to be based on wave functions on the real numbers, R^n. We study reversible mappings from the position operators q_i and their quantum canonical operators p_i of a canonical theory, onto the discrete, commuting operators Q_i and P_i. In this paper we are particularly interested in harmonic oscillators. In the discrete system, these turn into deterministic models, which is our motivation for this study. We regard the procedure worked o…
The Weltanschauung emerging from quantum theory clashes profoundly with our classical concepts. Quantum characteristics like superposition, entanglement, wave-particle duality, nonlocality, contextuality are difficult to reconcile with our everyday intuition. In this article I survey some aspects of quantum foundations and discuss intriguing connections with the foundations of mathematics.
By a series of simple examples, we illustrate how the lack of mathematical concern can readily lead to surprising mathematical contradictions in wave mechanics. The basic mathematical notions allowing for a precise formulation of the theory are then summarized and it is shown how they lead to an elucidation and deeper understanding of the aforementioned problems. After stressing the equivalence between wave mechanics and the other formulations of quantum mechanics, i.e. matrix mechanics and Dirac's abstract Hilbert space formulation, we devote the second part of our paper to the latter approac…
In this letter we briefly investigate the mathematical structure of space-time in the framework of discretization. It is shown that the discreteness of space-time may result in a new mechanical system which differ from the usual quantum mechanics (QM).
Quantum entanglement of mechanical systems emerges when distinct objects move with such a high degree of correlation that they can no longer be described separately. Although quantum mechanics presumably applies to objects of all sizes, directly observing entanglement becomes challenging as masses increase, requiring measurement and control with a vanishingly small error. Here, using pulsed electromechanics, we deterministically entangle two mechanical drumheads with masses of 70 pg. Through nearly quantum-limited measurements of the position and momentum quadratures of both drums, we perform …
The main challenge in deterministic quantum state transfer in long-distance quantum communications is the transmission losses in the communication channel. To overcome this limitation, here we use the adiabatic theorem and find a lossless evolution path between two remote mechanical modes. By adiabatic variation of the effective coupling strengths between the two nodes and the intermediate optical channel modes, we engineer a transmission path for the quantum state transfer that is decoupled from the decaying fiber modes. Using our proposed method we show that one obtains a quantum state trans…
We show that the principles of a ''complete physical theory'' and the conclusions of the standard quantum mechanics do not irreconcilably contradict each other as is commonly believed. In the algebraic approach, we formulate axioms that allow constructing a renewed mathematical scheme of quantum mechanics. This scheme involves the standard mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics. Simultaneously, it contains a mathematical object that adequately describes a single experiment. We give an example of the application of the proposed scheme.
According to quantum theory, pure physical states correspond to equivalence classes of state vectors, where any two members of one class differ by a complex factor. The point is that such a factor does not change the probability for the occurrence of any measurement result as computed within the formalism of quantum mechanics. In the formalism to be presented here, the state vector does not only determine the probabilities for the occurrence of measurement results, rather it determines the result itself. The information which guides the selection process is obtained from the state vector in a …
Contrary to common belief, it is not difficult to construct deterministic models where stochastic behavior is correctly described by quantum mechanical amplitudes, in precise accordance with the Copenhagen-Bohr-Bohm doctrine. What is difficult however is to obtain a Hamiltonian that is bounded from below, and whose ground state is a vacuum that exhibits complicated vacuum fluctuations, as in the real world. Beneath Quantum Mechanics, there may be a deterministic theory with (local) information loss. This may lead to a sufficiently complex vacuum state, and to an apparent non-locality in the re…
A local, deterministic toy model for quantum mechanics is introduced and discussed. It is demonstrated that, when averaged over the hidden variables, the model produces the same predictions as quantum mechanics. In the model considered here, the dynamics depends only on the settings of the measurement device at the detection time, not how those settings were chosen. As a consequence, the model is locally causal but violates statistical independence. We show that it is neither fine-tuned nor allows for superluminal signalling.
Electromagnetic phenomena can be described by Maxwell equations written for the vectors of electric and magnetic field. Equivalently, electrodynamics can be reformulated in terms of an electromagnetic vector potential. We demonstrate that the Schrödinger equation admits an analogous treatment. We present a Lagrangian theory of a real scalar field $ϕ$ whose equation of motion turns out to be equivalent to the Schrödinger equation with time independent potential. After introduction the field into the formalism, its mathematical structure becomes analogous to those of electrodynamics. The field $…
The predictions of quantum mechanics are probabilistic. Quantum probabilities are extracted using a postulate of the theory called the Born rule, the status of which is central to the "measurement problem" of quantum mechanics. Efforts to justify the Born rule from other physical principles, and thus elucidate the measurement process, have involved lengthy statistical or information-theoretic arguments. Here we show that Bohm's deterministic formulation of quantum mechanics allows the Born rule for measurements on a single system to be derived, without any statistical assumptions. We solve a s…
If there exists a classical, i.e. deterministic theory underlying quantum mechanics, an explanation must be found of the fact that the Hamiltonian, which is defined to be the operator that generates evolution in time, is bounded from below. The mechanism that can produce exactly such a constraint is identified in this paper. It is the fact that not all classical data are registered in the quantum description. Large sets of values of these data are assumed to be indistinguishable, forming equivalence classes. It is argued that this should be attributed to information loss, such as what one migh…
We combine the ideas of Dirac's orthonormal representation, Everett's relative state, and 't Hooft's ontological basis to define the notion of a world for quantum mechanics. Mathematically, for a quantum system $\mathcal{Q}$ with an associated Hilbert space $\mathbb{H},$ a world of $\mathcal{Q}$ is defined to be an orthonormal basis of $\mathbb{H}.$ The evolution of the system is governed by Schrödinger's equation for the worlds of it. An observable in a certain world is a self-adjoint operator diagonal under the corresponding basis. Moreover, a state is defined in an associated world but can …
We present a panoramic view on various attempts to "solve" the problems of quantum measurement and macro-objectivation, i.e. of the transition from a probabilistic quantum mechanic microscopic world to a deterministic classical macroscopic world.
In this paper, we investigate the connection between Classical and Quantum Mechanics by dividing Quantum Theory in two parts: - General Quantum Axiomatics (a system is described by a state in a Hilbert space, observables are self-adjoint operators and so on) - Quantum Mechanics properly that specifies the Hilbert space, the Heisenberg rule, the free Hamiltonian... We show that General Quantum Axiomatics (up to a supplementary "axiom of classicity") can be used as a non-standard mathematical ground to formulate all the ideas and equations of ordinary Classical Statistical Mechanics. So the ques…
We propose to experimentally test non-deterministic time evolution in quantum mechanics by consecutive measurements of non-commuting observables on the same prepared state. While in the standard theory the measurement outcomes are uncorrelated, in a super-deterministic hidden variables theory the measurements would be correlated. We estimate that for macroscopic experiments the correlation time is too short to have been noticed yet, but that it may be possible with a suitably designed microscopic experiment to reach a parameter range where one would expect a super-deterministic modification of…
A non-relativistic quantum mechanical theory is proposed that describes the universe as a continuum of worlds whose mutual interference gives rise to quantum phenomena. A logical framework is introduced to properly deal with propositions about objects in a multiplicity of worlds. In this logical framework, the continuum of worlds is treated in analogy to the continuum of time points, both "time" and "world" are considered as mutually independent modes of existence. The theory combines elements of Bohmian mechanics and of Everett's many-worlds interpretation, it has a clear ontology and a set o…
So-called hidden variables introduced in quantum mechanics by de Broglie and Bohm have changed their initial enigmatic meanings and acquired quite reasonable outlines of real and measurable characteristics. The start viewpoint was the following: All the phenomena, which we observe in the quantum world, should reflect structural properties of the real space. Thus the scale 10^{-28} cm at which three fundamental interactions (electromagnetic, weak, and strong) intersect has been treated as the size of a building block of the space. The appearance of a massive particle is associated with a local …
Multiparametric statistical model providing stable reconstruction of parameters by observations is considered. The only general method of this kind is the root model based on the representation of the probability density as a squared absolute value of a certain function, which is referred to as a psi function in analogy with quantum mechanics. The psi function is represented by an expansion in terms of an orthonormal set of functions. It is shown that the introduction of the psi function allows one to represent the Fisher information matrix as well as statistical properties of the estimator of…
The representation of numbers by product states in quantum mechanics can be extended to the representation of words and word sequences in languages by product states. This can be used to study quantum systems that generate text that has meaning. A simple example of such a system, based on an example described by Smullyan, is studied here. Based on a path interpretation for some word states, definitions of truth, validity, consistency and completeness are given and their properties studied. It is also shown that the relation between the meaning, if any, of word states and the algorithmic comple…
It has been argued that, underlying any given quantum-mechanical model, there exists at least one deterministic system that reproduces, after prequantisation, the given quantum dynamics. For a quantum mechanics with a complex d-dimensional Hilbert space, the Lie group SU(d) represents classical canonical transformations on the projective space CP^{d-1} of quantum states. Let R stand for the Ricci flow of the manifold SU(d-1) down to one point, and let P denote the projection from the Hopf bundle onto its base CP^{d-1}. Then the underlying deterministic model we propose here is the Lie group SU…
In quantum mechanics, photonic de Broglie waves have been understood as a unique property of quantum mechanics satisfying the complementarity between particle and wave natures of light, where the photonic de Broglie wavelength is inversely proportional to the number of entangled photons acting on a beam splitter. Very recently, the heart of nonclassical feature of photon bunching on a beam splitter was newly interpreted using pure wave nature of coherence optics [arXiv:1911.07174v2], paving a road to unconditionally secured classical key distribution [arXiv:1807.04233v3]. Here, Mach-Zehnder in…
We provide a systematic approach to quantum mechanics from an information-theoretic perspective using the language of tensor networks. Our formulation needs only a single kind of object, so-called positive *-tensors. Physical models translate experimental setups into networks of these *-tensors, and the evaluation of the resulting networks yields the probability distributions describing measurement outcomes. The idea behind our approach is similar to categorical formulations of quantum mechanics. However, our formulation is mathematically simpler and less abstract. Our presentation of the core…
In this study, I argue that the future is not open if quantum mechanics is complete. An open future means that the value observed when measuring a physical quantity in the future is not determined. At first glance, quantum mechanics seems to support the open future thesis, because it cannot always predict measurement value with certainty. However, many interpretations regard quantum mechanics as deterministic. These interpretations only suggest that the quantum mechanical world can be deterministic. I argue that, although quantum mechanics cannot predict the future with certainty, the quantum …
According to mathematical constructivism, a mathematical object can exist only if there is a way to compute (or "construct") it; so, what is non-computable is non-constructive. In the example of the quantum model, whose Fock states are associated with Fibonacci numbers, this paper shows that the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics is non-constructive since it permits an undecidable (or effectively impossible) subset of Hilbert space. On the other hand, as it is argued in the paper, if one believes that testability of predictions is the most fundamental property of any physical theory, …
In mathematical aspect, we introduce quantum algorithm and the mathematical structure of quantum computer. Quantum algorithm is expressed by linear algebra on a finite dimensional complex inner product space. The mathematical formulations of quantum mechanics had been established in around 1930, by von Neumann. The formulation uses functional analysis, linear algebra and probability theory. The knowledge of the mathematical formulation of QM is enough quantum mechanical knowledge for approaching to quantum algorithm and it might be efficient way for mathematicians that starting with mathematic…
