In 1931 Koopman and von Neumann extended previous work of Liouville and provided an operatorial version of Classical Mechanics (CM). In this talk we will review a path-integral formulation of this operatorial version of CM. In particular we will study the geometrical nature of the many auxiliary variables present and of the unexpected universal symmetries generated by the functional technique.
All measurable predictions of classical mechanics can be reproduced from a quantum-like interpretation of a nonlinear Schrodinger equation. The key observation leading to classical physics is the fact that a wave function that satisfies a linear equation is real and positive, rather than complex. This has profound implications on the role of the Bohmian classical-like interpretation of linear quantum mechanics, as well as on the possibilities to find a consistent interpretation of arbitrary nonlinear generalizations of quantum mechanics.
The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics assumes the existence of the classical deterministic Newtonian world. We argue that in fact the Newton determinism in classical world does not hold and in classical mechanics there is fundamental and irreducible randomness. The classical Newtonian trajectory does not have a direct physical meaning since arbitrary real numbers are not observable. There are classical uncertainty relations, i.e. the uncertainty (errors of observation) in the determination of coordinate and momentum is always positive (non zero). A "functional" formulation of clas…
We describe a scheme for constructing quantum mechanics in which a quantum system is considered as a collection of open classical subsystems. This allows using the formal classical logic and classical probability theory in quantum mechanics. Our approach nevertheless allows completely reproducing the standard mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics and identifying its applicability limits. We especially attend to the quantum state reduction problem.
Phase space is the state space of classical mechanics, and this manifold is normally endowed only with a symplectic form. The geometry of quantum mechanics is necessarily more complicated. Arguments will be given to show that augmenting the symplectic manifold of classical phase space with a Riemannian metric is sufficient for describing quantum mechanics. In particular, using such spaces, a fully satisfactory geometric version of quantization will be developed and described.
The generalized Weyl transform of index $α$ is used to implement the time-slice definition of the phase space path integral yielding the Feynman kernel in the case of noncommutative quantum mechanics. As expected, this representation for the Feynman kernel is not unique but labeled by the real parameter $α$. We succeed in proving that the $α$-dependent contributions disappear at the limit where the time slice goes to zero. This proof of consistency turns out to be intricate because the Hamiltonian involves products of noncommuting operators originating from the non-commutativity. The antisymme…
In this paper we address again the issue of the scale anomaly in quantum mechanical models with inverse square potential. In particular we examine the interplay between the classical and quantum aspects of the system using in both cases an operatorial approach.
The functional integral method can be used in quantum mechanics to find the scattering amplitude for particles in the external field. We will obtain the potential scattering amplitude form the complete Green function in the corresponding external field through solving the Schrodinger equation, after being separated from the poles on the mass shell, which takes the form of an eikonal (Glauber) representation in the high energy region and the small scattering angles. Consider specific external potentials such as the Yukawa or Gaussian potential, we will find the corresponding differential scatte…
We describe quantum entropic functionals and outline a research program dealing with entropic fluctuations in non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics.
In spite of its popularity, it has not been possible to vindicate the conventional wisdom that classical mechanics is a limiting case of quantum mechanics. The purpose of the present paper is to offer an alternative point of view in which quantum mechanics emerges as a limiting case of classical mechanics in which the classical system is decoupled from its environment.
A recent development of the studies on classical and quasi-classical properties of supersymmetric quantum mechanics in Witten's version is reviewed. First, classical mechanics of a supersymmetric system is considered. Solutions of the classical equations of motion are given and their properties are discussed in some detail. The corresponding quantum model is constructed by canonical quantization. The quantum model is analyzed by Feynman's path integral within a stationary-phase approximation. A quasi-classical quantization rule is derived, which is applicable when supersymmetry is exact or spo…
The formalism of subdynamics is extended to the functional approach of quantum systems, and used for the Friedrichs model, in which diagonal singularities in states and observables are included. We compute in this approach the generalized eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the Liouvulle-Von Newmann operator, using an iterative scheme. As complex generalized eigenvalues are obtained, the decay rates of unstable modes are included in the spectral decomposition.
Classical mechanics is formulated in complex Hilbert space with the introduction of a commutative product of operators, an antisymmetric bracket, and a quasidensity operator. These are analogues of the star product, the Moyal bracket, and the Wigner function in the phase space formulation of quantum mechanics. Classical mechanics can now be viewed as a deformation of quantum mechanics. The forms of semiquantum approximations to classical mechanics are indicated.
Classical statistical average values are generally generalized to average values of quantum mechanics, it is discovered that quantum mechanics is direct generalization of classical statistical mechanics, and we generally deduce both a new general continuous eigenvalue equation and a general discrete eigenvalue equation in quantum mechanics, and discover that a eigenvalue of quantum mechanics is just an extreme value of an operator in possibility distribution, the eigenvalue f is just classical observable quantity. A general classical statistical uncertain relation is further given, the general…
The Schrödinger equation is shown to be equivalent to a constrained Liouville equation under the assumption that phase space is extended to Grassmann algebra valued variables. For onedimensional systems, the underlying Hamiltonian dynamics has a N=2 supersymmetry. Potential applications to more realistic theories are briefly discussed.
We apply the machinery of projection lattices and von Neumann algebras to analyze the question of how modal interpretations can (and do) circumvent von Neumann's infamous 'no-hidden-variables' theorem.
Bohmian mechanics can be generalized to a relativistic theory without preferred foliation, with a price of introducing a puzzling concept of spacetime probability conserved in a scalar time. We explain how analogous concept appears naturally in classical statistical mechanics of relativistic particles, with scalar time being identified with the proper time along particle trajectories. The conceptual understanding of relativistic Bohmian mechanics is significantly enriched by this classical insight. In particular, the analogy between classical and Bohmian mechanics suggests the interpretation o…
This is an introductory chapter of the book in progress on quantum foundations and incompleteness of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is represented as statistical mechanics of classical fields.
A motivation is given for expressing classical mechanics in terms of diagonal projection matrices and diagonal density matrices. Then quantum mechanics is seen to be a simple generalization in which one replaces the diagonal real matrices with suitable Hermitian matrices.
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.
Quantum mechanics can emerge from classical statistics. A typical quantum system describes an isolated subsystem of a classical statistical ensemble with infinitely many classical states. The state of this subsystem can be characterized by only a few probabilistic observables. Their expectation values define a density matrix if they obey a "purity constraint". Then all the usual laws of quantum mechanics follow, including Heisenberg's uncertainty relation, entanglement and a violation of Bell's inequalities. No concepts beyond classical statistics are needed for quantum physics - the differenc…
Using quantum-classical analogies, we find that dynamical pictures of quantum mechanics have precise counterparts in classical mechanics. In particular, the Eulerian and Lagrangian descriptions of fluid dynamics in classical mechanics are the analogs of the Schroedinger and Heisenberg pictures in quantum mechanics, respectively. Similarities between classical and quantum dynamical pictures are explored within the framework of the Koopman-von Neumann formalism. These allow for a natural definition of various dynamical pictures in classical mechanics as well as the application of classical conc…
Both the set of quantum states and the set of classical states described by symplectic tomographic probability distributions (tomograms) are studied. It is shown that the sets have common part but there exist tomograms of classical states which are not admissible in quantum mechanics and vica versa, there exist tomograms of quantum states which are not admissible in classical mechanics. Role of different transformations of reference frames in phase space of classical and quantum systems (scaling and rotation) determining the admissibility of the tomograms as well as the role of quantum uncerta…
In spite of its popularity, it has not been possible to vindicate the conventional wisdom that classical mechanics is a limiting case of quantum mechanics. The purpose of the present paper is to offer an alternative formulation of classical mechanics which provides a continuous transition to quantum mechanics via environment-induced decoherence.
We introduce into classical mechanics the concept of non-discerned particles for particles that are identical, non-interacting and prepared in the same way. The non-discerned particles correspond to an action and a density which satisfy the statistical Hamilton-Jacobi equations and allow to explain the Gibbs paradox in a simple manner. On the other hand, a discerned particle corresponds to a particular action that satisfies the local Hamilton-Jacobi equations. We then study the convergence of quantum mechanics to classical mechanics when hbar -> 0 by considering the convergence for the two cas…
The Hellmann-Feynman, virial and comparison theorems are three fundamental theorems of quantum mechanics. For the first two, counterparts exist for classical mechanics with relativistic or nonrelativistic kinetic energy. It is shown here that these three theorems are valid for classical mechanics with a nonstandard kinetic energy. This brings some information about the connections between the quantum and classical worlds. Constraints about the functional form of the kinetic energy are also discussed.
Supmech, an algebraic scheme of mechanics integrating noncommutative symplectic geometry and noncommutative probability, subsumes quantum and classical mechanics and permits consistent treatment of interaction of quantum and classical systems. Quantum measurements are treated in this framework; the von Neumann reduction rule (generally postulated) is derived and interpreted in physical terms.
I review the formalism of classical extensions of quantum mechanics introduced by Beltrametti and Bugajski, and compare it to the classical representations discussed e.g. by Busch, Hellwig and Stulpe and recently used by Fuchs in his discussion of quantum mechanics in terms of standard quantum measurements. I treat the problem of finding Bayesian analogues of the state transition associated with measurement in the canonical classical extension as well as in the related 'uniform' classical representation. In the classical extension, the analogy is extremely good.
Where does quantum mechanics part ways with classical mechanics? How does quantum randomness differ fundamentally from classical randomness? We cannot fully explain how the theories differ until we can derive them within a single axiomatic framework, allowing an unambiguous account of how one theory is the limit of the other. Here we derive nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and classical statistical mechanics within a common framework. The common axioms include conservation of average energy and conservation of probability current. But two axioms distinguish quantum mechanics from classical st…
We derive the classical limit of quantum mechanics by describing the center of mass of a system constituted by a large number of particles. We will show that in that limit the commutator between the position and velocity of the center of mass is infinitesimal, which allows both to be known with great precision. We then show how the infinitesimal commutator allows for the definition of functions of position and velocity, and how the commutator reduces to a Poisson bracket.
In this paper we show that, via an extension of time, some metric structures naturally appear in both classical and quantum mechanics when both are formulated via path integrals. We calculate the various Ricci scalar and curvatures associated to these metrics and prove that they can be choosen to be zero in classical mechanics while this is not possible in quantum mechanics.
Contrary to the widespread belief, the problem of the emergence of classical mechanics from quantum mechanics is still open. In spite of many results on the $\h \to 0$ asymptotics, it is not yet clear how to explain within standard quantum mechanics the classical motion of macroscopic bodies. In this paper we shall analyze special cases of classical behavior in the framework of a precise formulation of quantum mechanics, Bohmian mechanics, which contains in its own structure the possibility of describing real objects in an observer-independent way.
In this paper we show how Feynman diagrams, which are used as a tool to implement perturbation theory in quantum field theory, can be very useful also in classical mechanics, provided we introduce also at the classical level concepts like path integrals and generating functionals.
The classical-statistical limit of quantum mechanics is studied. It is proved that the limit $\hbar \to 0$ is the good limit for the operators algebra but it si not so for the state compact set. In the last case decoherence must be invoked to obtain the classical-statistical limit.
The Dirac equation, usually obtained by `quantizing' a classical stochastic model is here obtained directly within classical statistical mechanics. The special underlying space-time geometry of the random walk replaces the missing analytic continuation, making the model `self-quantizing'. This provides a new context for the Dirac equation, distinct from its usual context in relativistic quantum mechanics.
The statistical mechanics of quantum-classical systems with holonomic constraints is formulated rigorously by unifying the classical Dirac bracket and the quantum-classical bracket in matrix form. The resulting Dirac quantum-classical theory, which conserves the holonomic constraints exactly, is then used to formulate time evolution and statistical mechanics. The correct momentum-jump approximation for constrained system arises naturally from this formalism. Finally, in analogy with what was found in the classical case, it is shown that the rigorous linear response function of constrained quan…
Here I explore a novel no-collapse interpretation of quantum mechanics which combines aspects of two familiar and well-developed alternatives, Bohmian mechanics and the many-worlds interpretation. Despite reproducing the empirical predictions of quantum mechanics, the theory looks surprisingly classical. All there is at the fundamental level are particles interacting via Newtonian forces. There is no wave function. However, there are many worlds.
The generalized h-dependent operator algebra is defined ($0\leq h \leq h_o$). For h= h_o it becomes equivalent to the quantum mechanical algebra of observables and for h=0 it is equivalent to the classical one. We show this by proposing how the main features of both mechanics can be defined in operator form.
The aim of this paper is to analyze the reconstructability of quantum mechanics from classical conditional probabilities representing measurement outcomes conditioned on measurement choices. We will investigate how the quantum mechanical representation of classical conditional probabilities is situated within the broader frame of noncommutative representations. To this goal, we adopt some parts of the quantum formalism and ask whether empirical data can constrain the rest of the representation to conform to quantum mechanics. We will show that as the set of empirical data grows conventional el…
In this paper a didactic approach is described which immediately leads to an understanding of those postulates of quantum mechanics used most frequently in quantum computation. Moreover, an interpretation of quantum mechanics is presented which is motivated by retaining the point of view of classical mechanics as much as possible, and which is consistent with relativity theory. Everything can be written down in terms of well-known mathematical formulations that can be found in every textbook about quantum mechanics. Therefore, in this version, almost no formulas are used.
We investigate the possibility that the semiclassical limit of quantum mechanics might be correctly described by a classical dynamical theory, other than standard classical mechanics. Using a set of classicality criteria proposed in a related paper, we show that the time evolution of a set of quantum initial data satisfying these criteria is fully consistent with the predictions of a new theory of classical dynamics. The dynamical structure of the new theory is given by the Moyal bracket. This is a Lie bracket that was first derived as the dynamical structure of the Moyal-Weyl-Wigner formulati…
We propose $Sp\,(8,\R)$ and its Langlands dual $SO(9,\R)$ as dynamical groups for closed quantum systems. Restricting here to the non-compact group $Sp\,(8,\R)$, the quantum theory is constructed and investigated. The functional Mellin transform plays a prominent role in defining the quantum theory. It provides a bridge between the quantum algebra of observables and the algebra of operators on Hilbert spaces furnishing unitary representations that are induced from a distinguished parabolic subgroup of $Sp\,(8,\C)$. As well, the parabolic subgroup renders a fiber bundle construction that models…
This thesis is concerned with the representation theory of the Heisenberg group and its applications to both classical and quantum mechanics. We continue the development of $p$-mechanics which is a consistent physical theory capable of describing both classical and quantum mechanics simultaneously. $p$-Mechanics starts from the observation that the one dimensional representations of the Heisenberg group play the same role in classical mechanics which the infinite dimensional representations play in quantum mechanics. In this thesis we introduce the idea of states to $p$-mechanics. $p$-Mechanic…
General history quantum theories are quantum theories without a globally defined notion of time. Decoherence functionals represent the states in the history approach and are defined as certain bivariate complex-valued functionals on the space of all histories. However, in practical situations -- for instance in the history formulation of standard quantum mechanics -- there often is a global time direction and the homogeneous decoherence functionals are specified by their values on the subspace of homogeneous histories. In this work we study the analytic properties of (i) the standard decoheren…
Quantum mechanics is formulated as a geometric theory on a Hilbert manifold. Images of charts on the manifold are allowed to belong to arbitrary Hilbert spaces of functions including spaces of generalized functions. Tensor equations in this setting, also called functional tensor equations, describe families of functional equations on various Hilbert spaces of functions. The principle of functional relativity is introduced which states that quantum theory is indeed a functional tensor theory, i.e., it can be described by functional tensor equations. The main equations of quantum theory are show…
In quantum mechanics, the expectation value of a quantity on a quantum state, provided that the state itself gives in the classical limit a motion of a particle in a definite path, in classical limit goes over to Fourier series form of the classical quantity. In contrast to this widely accepted point of view, a rigorous calculation shows that the expectation value on such a state in classical limit exactly gives the Fejér's arithmetic mean of the partial sums of the Fourier series.
We study asymptotic expansions of Gaussian integrals of analytic functionals on infinite-dimensional spaces (Hilbert and nuclear Frechet). We obtain an asymptotic equality coupling the Gaussian integral and the trace of the composition of scaling of the covariation operator of a Gaussian measure and the second (Frechet) derivative of a functional. In this way we couple classical average (given by an infinite-dimensional Gaussian integral) and quantum average (given by the von Neumann trace formula). We can interpret this mathematical construction as a procedure of ``dequantization'' of quantum…
Measurement theory in classical mechanics is investigated in the formulation of classical mechanics by Koopman and von Neumann (KvN), using Hilbert space. It is shown that the classical and the quantum measurements give different "relative interpretations" of the measurement state and the recording state of the measurement device. The uncertainty relation in classical mechanics is also derived.
By means of the examples of classical and Bohmian quantum mechanics, we illustrate the well-known ideas of Boltzmann as to how one gets from laws defined for the universe as a whole to dynamical relations describing the evolution of subsystems. We explain how probabilities enter into this process, what quantum and classical probabilities have in common and where exactly their difference lies.
We provide a careful analysis of the generating functional in the path integral formulation of pseudo-Hermitian and in particular PT-symmetric quantum mechanics and show how the metric operator enters the expression for the generating functional.
The basic concepts of classical mechanics are given in the operator form. The dynamical equation for a hybrid system, consisting of quantum and classical subsystems, is introduced and analyzed in the case of an ideal nonselective measurement. The nondeterministic evolution is found to be the consequence of the superposition of two different deterministic evolutions.
We study the classical dynamics of non-relativistic particles endowed with spin. Non-vanishing Zitterbewegung terms appear in the equation of motion also in the small momentum limit. We derive a generalized work-energy theorem which suggests classical interpretations for tunnel effect and quantum potential.
We argue with claims of the paper [Agostini F., Caprara S. and Ciccotti G., Europhys. Lett. EPL, 78 (2007) Art. 30001, 6] that the quantum-classic bracket introduced in [arXiv:quant-ph/0506122] produces "artificial coupling" and has "genuinely classical nature". Keywords: p-mechanics, quantum, classic, commutator, Poisson bracket, mixing, coupling, semi-classical
We present a general method to derive the classical mechanics of a system of identical particles in a way that retains information about quantum statistics. The resulting statistical mechanics can be interpreted as a classical version of Haldane's exclusion statistics.
Possible theoretical frameworks for measurement of (arrival) time in the nonrelativistic quantum mechanics are reviewed. It is argued that the ambiguity between indirect measurements by a suitably introduced time operator and direct measurements by a physical clock particle has a counterpart in the corresponding classical framework of measurement of the Newtonian time based on the Hamiltonian mechanics.
A theoretical scheme, based on a probabilistic generalization of the Hamilton's principle, is elaborated to obtain an unified description of more general dynamical behaviors determined both from a lagrangian function and by mechanisms not contemplated by this function. Within this scheme, quantum mechanics, classical field theory and a quantum theory for scalar fields are discussed. As a by-product of the probabilistic scheme for classical field theory, the equations of the De Donder-Weyl theory for multi-dimensional variational problems are recovered.
We present an explicit correspondence between quantum mechanics and the classical theory of irreversible thermodynamics as developed by Onsager, Prigogine et al. Our correspondence maps irreversible Gaussian Markov processes into the semiclassical approximation of quantum mechanics. Quantum-mechanical propagators are mapped into thermodynamical probability distributions. The Feynman path integral also arises naturally in this setup. The fact that quantum mechanics can be translated into thermodynamical language provides additional support for the conjecture that quantum mechanics is not a fund…
Classical statistical particle mechanics in the configuration space can be represented by a nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Even without assuming the existence of deterministic particle trajectories, the resulting quantum-like statistical interpretation is sufficient to predict all measurable results of classical mechanics. In the classical case, the wave function that satisfies a linear equation is positive, which is the main source of the fundamental difference between classical and quantum mechanics.
In this continuation paper we will address the problem of tunneling. We will show how to settle this phenomenon within our classical interpretation. It will be shown that, rigorously speaking, there is no tunnel effect at all.
Some aspects of adelic generalized functions, as linear continuous functionals on the space of Schwartz-Bruhat functions, are considered. The importance of adelic generalized functions in adelic quantum mechanics is demonstrated. In particular, adelic product formula for Gauss integrals is derived, and the connection between the functional relation for the Riemann zeta function and quantum states of the harmonic oscillator is stated.