I argue that the linearity of quantum mechanics is an emergent feature at the Planck scale, along with the manifold structure of space-time. In this regime the usual causality violation objections to nonlinearity do not apply, and nonlinear effects can be of comparable magnitude to the linear ones and still be highly suppressed at low energies. This can offer alternative approaches to quantum gravity and to the evolution of the early universe.
According to the widely accepted notion, the Schr{ö}dinger equation (SE) is not derivable in principle. Contrary to this belief, we present here a straightforward derivation of SE. It is based on only two fundamentals of mechanics: the classical Hamilton-Jacobi equation(HJE) and the Planck postulate about the discrete transfer of energy at micro-scales. Our approach is drastically different from the other published derivations of SE which either employ an ad hoc underlying assumption about the probabilistic or the statistical nature of the micro-scale phenomena, or rely on the prior knowledge …
The algebra of polynomials in operators that represent generalized coordinate and momentum and depend on the Planck constant is defined. The Planck constant is treated as the parameter taking values between zero and some nonvanishing $h_0$. For the second of these two extreme values, introduced operatorial algebra becomes equivalent to the algebra of observables of quantum mechanical system defined in the standard manner by operators in the Hilbert space. For the vanishing Planck constant, the generalized algebra gives the operator formulation of classical mechanics since it is equivalent to t…
The discrete phase space continuous time representation of relativistic quantum mechanics involving a characteristic length $l$ is investigated. Fundamental physical constants such as $\hbar$, $c$, and $l$ are retained for most sections of the paper. The energy eigenvalue problem for the Planck oscillator is solved exactly in this framework. Discrete concircular orbits of constant energy are shown to be circles $S^{1}_{n}$ of radii $2E_n =\sqrt{2n+1}$ within the discrete (1 + 1)-dimensional phase plane. Moreover, the time evolution of these orbits sweep out world-sheet like geometrical entitie…
Due to its connection to the diffeomorphism group, nonlinear quantum mechanics may play an important role in quantum geometry. The Doebner-Goldin nonlinearity (arising from representations of the diffeomorphism group) amplifies nonlocal signaling effects under extreme localization, suggesting that even if greatly suppressed at low energies, such effects may be significant at the Planck scale. This offers new perspectives on Planck-scale physics.
In the paper the Schrodinger equation (SE) with gravity term is developed and discussed. It is shown that the modified SE is valid for particles with mass m<M_P, M_P is the Planck mass, and contains the part which, we argue describes the pilot wave. For m \to M_P the modified SE has the solution with oscillatory term, i.e. strings. Key words: Schrodinger-Newton equation; Planck time; pilot wave.
With the simplest proof ever, we justify the significance of quantum-gravity in non-relativistic quantum mechanics together with the related theories and experiments. Since the de Broglie wave length is inverse proportional to the mass, it would descend towards and below the Planck scale 10^{-33} cm for large masses even at slow non-relativistic motion. The tricky relationship between gravity and quantum mechanics ---well-known in the relativistic case--- shows up in non-relativistic motion of massive objects. Hence the gravity-related modification of their Schrödinger equation is m a n d a t …
The effect of Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) theorem in quantum systems is manifested in dividing eigenstates into regular and irregular states. We propose an effective method based on Wannier basis in phase space to illustrate this division of eigenstates. The quantum kicked-rotor model is used to illustrate this method, which allows us to define the area and effective dimension of each eigenstate to distinguish quantitatively regular and irregular eigenstates. This Wannier basis method also allows us to define the length of a Planck cell in the spectrum that measures how many Planck cells the…
Usual quantum mechanics requires a fixed, background, spacetime geometry and its associated causal structure. A generalization of the usual theory may therefore be needed at the Planck scale for quantum theories of gravity in which spacetime geometry is a quantum variable. The elements of generalized quantum theory are briefly reviewed and illustrated by generalizations of usual quantum theory that incorporate spacetime alternatives, gauge degrees of freedom, and histories that move forward and backward in time. A generalized quantum framework for cosmological spacetime geometry is sketched. T…
We complement previous studies of an ion coupled with an optical cavity in the dispersive regime, for a model which exhibits bistability of different configurations in the semiclassical description. Our approach is based on a truncated evolution in phase space and is intended to explore an especially interesting parameter region where the fully quantum-mechanical solution becomes hard but the crudest semiclassical approach fails to capture essential phenomena. We compare the results of our techniques with the ones from numerical diagonalization of the quantum evolution and find that although t…
A view of emission and absorption of photons by atoms, which was proposed by Max Planck, is recalled. A direct experiment that could corroborate or refute that view is defined.
Observables of quantum or classical mechanics form algebras called quantum or classical Hamilton algebras respectively (Grgin E and Petersen A (1974) {\it J Math Phys} {\bf 15} 764\cite{grginpetersen}, Sahoo D (1977) {\it Pramana} {\bf 8} 545\cite{sahoo}). We show that the tensor-product of two quantum Hamilton algebras, each characterized by a different Planck's constant is an algebra of the same type characterized by yet another Planck's constant. The algebraic structure of mixed quantum and classical systems is then analyzed by taking the limit of vanishing Planck's constant in one of the c…
Quantum mechanics has so far not been tested for mechanical objects at the scale of the Planck mass $\sqrt{\hbar c/ G} \simeq 22\,μ\mathrm{g}$. We present an experiment where a 1 mm quartz micropillar resonating at 3.6 MHz with an effective mass of 30 $μ$g is cooled to 500 mK with a dilution refrigerator, and further optomechanically sideband-cooled to an effective temperature of 3 mK, corresponding to a mode thermal occupancy of 20 phonons. This nearly 1000-fold increase in the mass of an optomechanical system with respect to previous experiments near the quantum ground state opens new perspe…
It is demonstrated how the equilibrium semiclassical approach of Coffey et al. can be improved to describe more correctly the evolution. As a result a new semiclassical Klein-Kramers equation for the Wigner function is derived, which remains quantum for a free quantum Brownian particle as well. It is transformed to a semiclassical Smoluchowski equation, which leads to our semiclassical generalization of the classical Einstein law of Brownian motion derived before. A possibility is discussed how to extend these semiclassical equations to nonlinear quantum Fokker-Planck equations based on the Fi…
We present arguments suggesting that deviations from the Born probability rule could be generated for trans-Planckian field modes during inflation. Such deviations are theoretically possible in the de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave formulation of quantum mechanics, according to which the Born rule describes a state of statistical equilibrium. We suggest that a stable equilibrium state can exist only in restricted conditions: on a classical background spacetime that is globally hyperbolic or in a mild quantum-gravity regime in which there is an effective Schrödinger equation with a well-defined time p…
On 14 December 1900 Max Planck first formulated the idea of energy quanta related to a new universal constant now known as Planck's constant. Despite the following progress of thus initiated "quantum mechanics", the physical origin of both quantization and universality of Planck's constant remains mysterious, as well as other "peculiar" properties of quantum dynamics. In this paper we review a recent causal extension of quantum mechanics consistently explaining all its "mysteries" by irreducibly complex, "dynamically multivalued" behaviour of the underlying system of two interacting protofield…
We discuss the systematic expansion of the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation with the help of the eigenfunctions of the time-dependent Fokker-Planck operator. The expansion parameter is the time derivative of the external parameter which controls the form of an external potential. Our expansion corresponds to the perturbative calculation of the adiabatic motion in quantum mechanics. With this method, we derive a new formula to calculate the irreversible work order by order, which is expressed as the expectation value with a pseudo density matrix. Applying this method to the case of the ha…
Here we present some results that would possibly have attracted the attention of the physics community in the early days of quantum mechanics in such a way that its development could have been different from what we see today. We will first present a derivation of Planck's blackbody spectrum radiation without the hypothesis of quantized energy levels of the oscillator, the only additional hypothesis to the classical theory being the existence of zeropoint fluctuations in the electromagnetic field, and this would stand as a nontrivial vacuum which could be inferred by classical means. After doi…
Complex geometry and symplectic geometry are mirrors in string theory. The recently developed generalised complex geometry interpolates between the two of them. On the other hand, the classical and quantum mechanics of a finite number of degrees of freedom are respectively described by a symplectic structure and a complex structure on classical phase space. In this letter we analyse the role played by generalised complex geometry in the classical and quantum mechanics of a finite number of degrees of freedom. We identify generalised complex geometry as an appropriate geometrical setup for dual…
It is shown that in the model [3,4] of quantum mechanics besides probability amplitudes, the Planck constant and the Fock space, the cosmological constant also appear in the natural way. The Poisson brackets are generalized for the case of kinetics.
Within the context of the usual semi classical investigation of Planck scale Schwarzchild Black Holes, as in Quantum Gravity, and later attempts at a full Quantum Mechanical description in terms of a Kerr-Newman metric including the spinorial behaviour, we attempt to present a formulation that extends from the Planck scale to the Hubble scale. In the process the so called large number coincidences as also the hitherto inexplicable relations between the pion mass and the Hubble Constant, pointed out by Weinberg, turn out to be natural consequences in a consistent description.
We derive fundamental limits on measurements of position, arising from quantum mechanics and classical general relativity. First, we show that any primitive probe or target used in an experiment must be larger than the Planck length, $l_P$. This suggests a Planck-size {\it minimum ball} of uncertainty in any measurement. Next, we study interferometers (such as LIGO) whose precision is much finer than the size of any individual components and hence are not obviously limited by the minimum ball. Nevertheless, we deduce a fundamental limit on their accuracy of order $l_P$. Our results imply a {\i…
