The idea of equivalence of the free electromagnetic phase and quantum-mechanical one is investigated in an attempt to seek modifications of Schrödinger's equation that could realize it. It is assumed that physically valid realizations are compatibile with the U(1)-gauge and Galilean invariance. It is shown that such extensions of the Schrödinger equation do not exist, which also means that despite their apparent similarity the quantum-mechanical phase is essentially different from the electromagnetic one.
We obtain lower and upper bounds on the heat kernel and Green functions of the Schroedinger operator in a random Gaussian magnetic field and a fixed scalar potential. We apply stochastic Feynman-Kac representation, diamagnetic upper bounds and the Jensen inequality for the lower bound. We show that if the covariance of the electromagnetic (vector) potential is increasing at large distances then the lower bound is decreasing exponentially fast for large distances and a large time.
We present an extension of Staruszkiewicz's modification of the Schrödinger equation which preserves its main and unique feature: in the natural system of units the modification terms do not contain any dimensional constants. The extension, similarly as the original, is formulated in a three-dimensional space and derives from a Galilean invariant Lagrangian. It is pointed out that this model of nonlinearity violates the separability of compound systems in the fundamentalist approach to this issue. In its general form, this modification does not admit stationary states for all potentials for wh…
We explore a connection of the deterministically forced Burgers equation for local velocity fields with probabilistic solutions of the Schrödinger boundary data problem. An issue of deducing the most likely interpolating dynamics from the given initial and terminal probability density data is here investigated to give account of the perturbation by external electromagnetic fields. A suitable extension of the Hopf-Cole logarithmic transformation allows to deal with nonconservative drift fields and implies the validity of appropriately generalised heat equations, which completely determine the d…
Schroedinger's equation with scalar and vector potentials is shown to describe "nothing but" hopping of a quantum particle on a lattice; any spatial variation of the hopping amplitudes acts like an external electric and/or magnetic field. The main point of the argument is the superposition principle for state vectors; Lagrangians, path integrals, or classical Hamiltonians are not (!) required. Analogously, the Hamiltonian of the free electromagnetic field is obtained as a twofold continuum limit of unitary hopping in Z(N) link configuration space, if gauge invariance and C and P symmetries are…
We report preparation and characterization of coherent superposition states t |0> + alpha |1> of electromagnetic field by conditional measurements on a beamsplitter. The state is generated in one of the beam splitter output channels if a coherent state and a single-photon Fock state |1> are present in the two input ports and a single photon is registered in the other beam splitter output. The single photon thus plays a role of a "catalyst": it is explicitly present in both the input and the output channels of the interaction yet facilitates generation of a nonclassical state of light.
We review the use of quantum feedback for combatting the decoherence of Schroedinger-cat-like states in electromagnetic cavities, with special emphasys on our recent proposal of an automatic mechanism based on the injection of appropriately prepared ``probe'' and ``feedback'' Rydberg atoms. In the latter scheme, the information transmission from the probe to the feedback atom is directly mediated by a second auxiliary cavity. The detection efficiency for the probe atom is no longer a critical parameter, and the decoherence time of the linear superposition state can be significantly increased u…
To find the Hermitian phase operatorof a single-mode electromagnetic field in quantum mechanics, the Schroedinger representation is extended to a larger Hilbert space augmented by states with infinite excitation by nonstandard analysis. The Hermitian phase operator is shown to exist on the extended Hilbert space. This operator is naturally considered as the controversial limit of the approximate phase operators on finite dimensional spaces proposed by Pegg and Barnett. The spectral measure of this operator is a Naimark extension of the optimal probability operator-valued measure for the phase …
It is known that the Schroedinger equation is not covariant under Galilei boosts, unless the phase of its solutions are shifted simultaneously. It is argued that the phase shift is not a coordinate transformation, because it depends on the mass of the Schroedinger particle. The phase shift also cannot be derived from low speed Lorentz boost. It is proposed to extend the Galilei boost with two terms of order v^2/c^2 to avoid these issues and to guarantee covariance of the Schroedinger kinetic energy and momentum. The extensions imply that proper time and relativity of simultaneity are essential…
We propose a nonlinear modification of the Schrödinger equation that possesses the main properties of this equation such as the Galilean invariance, the weak separability of composite systems, and the homogeneity in the wave function. The modification is derived from the relativistic relation between the energy and momentum of free particle and, as such, it is the best relativistic extension of the Schrödinger equation that preserves the properties in question. The only change it effectively entails in the Schrödinger equation involves the conserved probability current. It is pointed out that …
We discuss a model for the integer quantum Hall effect which is based on a Schroedinger-Chern-Simons-action functional for a non-interacting system of electrons in an electromagnetic field on a mutiply connected manifold. In this model the integer values of the Hall conductivity arises in view of the quantization of the Chern-Simons-action functional for electromagnetic potential.
We revisit here the analytical continuation approach usually employed to compute quasinormal modes (QNM) and frequencies of a given potential barrier $V$ starting from the bounded states and respective eigenvalues of the Schroedinger operator associated with the potential well corresponding to the inverted potential $-V$. We consider an exactly soluble problem corresponding to a potential barrier of the Poschl-Teller type with a well defined and behaved QNM spectrum, but for which the associated Schroedinger operator $\cal H$ obtained by analytical continuation fails to be self-adjoint. Althou…
An exactly solvable position-dependent mass Schrödinger equation in two dimensions, depicting a particle moving in a semi-infinite layer, is re-examined in the light of recent theories describing superintegrable two-dimensional systems with integrals of motion that are quadratic functions of the momenta. To get the energy spectrum a quadratic algebra approach is used together with a realization in terms of deformed parafermionic oscillator operators. In this process, the importance of supplementing algebraic considerations with a proper treatment of boundary conditions for selecting physical w…
We give a pedagogical introduction of the stochastic variational method by considering the quantization of a non-inertial particle system. We show that the effects of fictitious forces are represented in the forms of vector fields which behave analogous to the gauge fields in the electromagnetic interaction. We further discuss that the operator expressions for observables can be defined by applying the stochastic Noether theorem.
We revisit Ozawa's uncertainty principle (OUP) in the framework of noncommutative (NC) quantum mechanics. We derive a matrix version of OUP accommodating any NC structure in the phase-space, and compute NC corrections to lowest order for two measurement interactions, namely the Backaction Evading Quadrature Amplifier and Noiseless Quadrature Transducers. These NC corrections alter the nature of the measurement interaction, as a noiseless interaction may acquire noise, and an interaction of independent intervention may become dependent of the object system. However the most striking result is t…
The de Broglie-Bohm approach permits to assign well defined trajectories to particles that obey the Schroedinger equation. We extend this approach to electron pairs in a superconductor. In the stationary regime this extension is completely natural; in the general case additional postulates are required. This approach gives enlightening views for the absence of Hall effect in the stationary regime and for the formation of permanent currents.
The Schroedinger operator with point interaction in one dimension has a U(2) family of self-adjoint extensions. We study the spectrum of the operator and show that (i) the spectrum is uniquely determined by the eigenvalues of the matrix U belonging to U(2) that characterizes the extension, and that (ii) the space of distinct spectra is given by the orbifold T^2/Z_2 which is a Moebius strip with boundary. We employ a parametrization of U(2) that admits a direct physical interpretation and furnishes a coherent framework to realize the spectral duality and anholonomy recently found. This allows u…
Following Max Planck's hypothesis of quanta (quant-ph/0012069) and the matter wave idea of Louis de Broglie (quant-ph/9911107), Erwin Schroedinger proposed, at the beginning of 1926, the concept of wavefunction and wave equation for it. Though endowed with a realistic undular interpretation by its father, the wavefunction could not be considered as a real "matter wave" and has been provided with only abstract, formally probabilistic interpretation. In this paper we show how the resulting "mysteries" of usual theory are solved within the unreduced, dynamically multivalued description of the und…
Quantum stochastic differential equations have been used to describe the dynamics of an atom interacting with the electromagnetic field via absorption/emission processes. Here, by using the full quantum stochastic Schroedinger equation proposed by Hudson and Parthasarathy fifteen years ago, we show that such models can be generalized to include other processes into the interaction. In the case of a two-level atom we construct a model in which the interaction with the field is due either to absorption/emission processes either to direct scattering processes, which simulate the interaction due t…
We analyze the extension of the well known relation between Brownian motion and Schroedinger equation to the family of Levy processes. We consider a Levy-Schroedinger equation where the usual kinetic energy operator - the Laplacian - is generalized by means of a selfadjoint, pseudodifferential operator whose symbol is the logarithmic characteristic of an infinitely divisible law. The Levy-Khintchin formula shows then how to write down this operator in an integro--differential form. When the underlying Levy process is stable we recover as a particular case the fractional Schroedinger equation. …
Yes, there is. - A new kind of gauge theory is introduced, where the minimal coupling and corresponding covariant derivatives are defined in the space of functions pertaining to the functional Schroedinger picture of a given field theory. While, for simplicity, we study the example of an U(1) symmetry, this kind of gauge theory can accommodate other symmetries as well. We consider the resulting relativistic nonlinear extension of quantum mechanics and show that it incorporates gravity in the (0+1)-dimensional limit, where it leads to the Schroedinger-Newton equations. Gravity is encoded here i…
Schroedinger investigated entanglement in two-particle state vectors by assuming measurement finding out if the nearby particle is in a given state vector or not. Without interaction with the distant particle, just on account of the entanglement, the distant particle is steered into a certain state vector. In Schroedinger's finite-dimensional case thus any distant-particle state vector can be reached. This theory was extended to infinite-dimensional spaces by the author. The present article completes the extension by throwing light on the fine structure of steering.
Slow swift electrons with low self-inertia interact differently with matter and light in comparison with their relativistic counterparts: they are easily recoiled, reflected, and also diffracted form optical gratings and nanostructures. As a consequence, they can be also better manipulated into the desired shape. For example, they get bunched quite fast in interaction with acceleration gratings in presence of an external electromagnetic radiation, a phenomenon which can be desirable in development of superradiant coherent light sources. Here, I examine the spatiotemporal behavior of pulsed ele…
A nonlinear modification of the Schrödinger equation is proposed in which the Lagrangian density for the Schrödinger equation is extended by terms polynomial in $Δ^{m}\ln (Ψ^{*}/Ψ)$ multiplied by $Ψ^{*}Ψ$. This introduces a homogeneous nonlinearity in a Galilean invariant manner through the phase $S$ rather than the amplitude $R$ of the wave function $Ψ=R\exp (iS)$. From this general scheme we choose the simplest minimal model defined in some reasonable way. The model in question offers the simplest way to modify the Bohm formulation of quantum mechanics so as to allow a leading phase contribu…
In non-relativistic quantum mechanics, path integrals are normally derived from the Schroedinger equation. This assumes the two formalisms are equivalent. Since time plays a very different role in the Schroedinger equation and in path integrals, this may not be the case. We here derive path integrals directly by imposing two requirements: correct behavior in the classical limit and the most complete practicable symmetry between time and space. With these requirements, the path integral formalism predicts quantum fluctuations over the time dimension analogous to the quantum fluctuations seen ov…
We consider a statistical ensemble of particles of mass m, which can be described by a probability density ρand a probability current \vec{j} of the form ρ\nabla S/m. The continuity equation for ρand \vec{j} implies a first differential equation for the basic variables ρand S. We further assume that this system may be described by a linear differential equation for a complex state variable χ. Using this assumptions and the simplest possible Ansatz χ(ρ,S) Schroedingers equation for a particle of mass m in an external potential V(q,t) is deduced. All calculations are performed for a single spati…
A new kind of gauge theory is introduced, where the minimal coupling and corresponding covariant derivatives are defined in the space of functions pertaining to the functional Schroedinger picture of a given field theory. While, for simplicity, we study the example of a U(1) symmetry, this kind of gauge theory can accommodate other symmetries as well. We consider the resulting relativistic nonlinear extension of quantum mechanics and show that it incorporates gravity in the (0+1)-dimensional limit, similar to recently studied Schroedinger-Newton equations. Gravity is encoded here into a univer…
We investigate physical models which possess simultaneous ordinary and type A N-fold supersymmetries, which we call type A (N,1)-fold supersymmetry. Inequivalent type A (N,1)-fold supersymmetric models with real-valued potentials are completely classified. Among them, we find that a trigonometric Rosen-Morse type and its elliptic version are of physical interest. We investigate various aspects of these models, namely, dynamical breaking and interrelation between ordinary and N-fold supersymmetries, shape invariance, quasi-solvability, and an associated algebra which is composed of one bosonic …
We propose physical interpretations for stochastic methods which have been developed recently to describe the evolution of a quantum system interacting with a reservoir. As opposed to the usual reduced density operator approach, which refers to ensemble averages, these methods deal with the dynamics of single realizations, and involve the solution of stochastic Schrödinger equations. These procedures have been shown to be completely equivalent to the master equation approach when ensemble averages are taken over many realizations. We show that these techniques are not only convenient mathemati…
We have developed a new family of limited-diffraction electromagnetic X-shaped waves based on the scalar "X waves" discovered previously. These waves are diffraction-free in theory and particle-like (wave packets), in that they maintain their shape as they propagate to an infinite distance. The X waves possess (theoretically) infinitely extended arms, and --at least, the ones studied in this paper-- have an infinite total energy: therefore, they are not physically realizable. However, they can be truncated in both space and time and approximated by means of a finite aperture radiator so to get…
Hamilton-Jacobi equation which governs classical mechanics and electrodynamics explicitly depends on the electromagnetic potentials (A,ϕ), similar to Schroedinger equation. We derived the Aharonov-Bohm effect from Hamilton-Jacobi equation thereby having proved that this effect is of classical origin. These facts enable us to arrive at the following conclusions: a) the very idea of special role of potentials (A,ϕ) in quantum mechanics (different from their role in classical physics) lost the ground, and becomes dubious, as this idea is based on the Aharonov-Bohm effect, b) failure to find any s…
We consider different variants of factorization of a 2x2 matrix Schroedinger/Pauli operator in two spatial dimensions. They allow to relate its spectrum to the sum of spectra of two scalar Schroedinger operators, in a manner similar to one-dimensional Darboux transformations. We consider both the case when such factorization is reduced to the ordinary 2-dimensional SUSY QM quasifactorization and a more general case which involves covariant derivatives. The admissible classes of electromagnetic fields are described and some illustrative examples are given.
A stochastic model for nondemolition continuous measurement in a quantum system is given. It is shown that the posterior dynamics, including a continuous collapse of the wave function, is described by a nonlinear stochastic wave equation. For a particle in an electromagnetic field it reduces the Schroedinger equation with extra imaginary stochastic potentials.
The behavior of a classical charged point particle under the influence of only a Coulombic binding potential and classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation, is shown to yield agreement with the probability density distribution of Schroedinger's wave equation for the ground state of hydrogen. These results, obtained without any fitting parameters, again raise the possibility that the main tenets of stochastic electrodynamics (SED) are correct, thereby potentially providing a more fundamental basis of quantum mechanics. The present methods should help propel yet deeper investigations into SE…
The one dimensional Schroedinger hydrogen atom is an interesting mathematical and physical problem to study bound states, eigenfunctions and quantum degeneracy issues. This 1D physical system gave rise to some intriguing controversy over more than four decades. Presently, still no definite consensus seems to have been reached. We reanalyzed this apparently controversial problem, approaching it from a Fourier transform representation method combined with some fundamental (basic) ideas found in self-adjoint extensions of symmetric operators. In disagreement with some previous claims, we found th…
We give a systematic treatment of the quantum mechanics of a spin zero particle in a combined electromagnetic field and a weak gravitational field, which is produced by a slow moving matter source. The analysis is based on the Klein-Gordon equation expressed in generally covariant form and coupled minimally to the electromagnetic field. The Klein-Gordon equation is recast into Schroedinger equation form (SEF), which we then analyze in the non-relativistic limit. We include a discussion of some rather general observable physical effects implied by the SEF, concentrating on gravitomagnetism. Of …
A short review of Schroedinger hamiltonians for which the spectral problem has been related in the literature to the distribution of the prime numbers is presented here. We notice a possible connection between prime numbers and centrifugal inversions in black holes and suggest that this remarkable link could be directly studied within trapped Bose-Einstein condensates. In addition, when referring to the factorizing operators of Pitkanen and Castro and collaborators, we perform a mathematical extension allowing a more standard supersymmetric approach
This paper presents a realistic model that describes radiation-matter interactions. This is achieved by a generalization of first quantization, where the Maxwell equations are interpreted as the electromagnetic component of the Schroedinger equation. This picture is complemented by the consideration of electrons and photons as real particles in three-dimensional space, following guiding conditions derived from the particle-wave-functions to which they are associated. The guiding condition for the electron is taken from Bohmian mechanics, while the photon velocity is defined as the ratio betwee…
In this paper we show how all the quantum properties of Schroedinger and Pauli particles can be described entirely from within a Clifford algebra taken over the reals. There is no need to appeal to any `wave function'. To describe a quantum system, we define the Clifford density element [CDE] as a product of an element of a minimal left ideal and its Clifford conjugate. The properties of the system are then completely specified in terms of bilinear invariants of the first and second kind calculated using the CDE. Thus the quantum properties of a system can be completely described from within t…
We study the radial Schroedinger equation for a particle in the field of a singular inverse square attractive potential. This potential is relevant to the fabrication of nanoscale atom optical devices, is said to be the potential describing the dipole-bound anions of polar molecules, and is the effective potential underlying the universal behavior of three-body systems in nuclear physics and atomic physics, including aspects of Bose-Einstein condensates, first described by Efimov. New results in three-body physical systems motivate the present investigation. Using the regularization method of …
We handle all the self-adjoint extensions of the minimal Schroedinger operator for the non-relativistic electron living in the one-dimensional configuration space with a junction. We are interested in every boundary condition corresponding to the individual self-adjoint extension. Thus, we clarify all the types of those boundary conditions of the wave functions of the non-relativistic electron. We find a tunnel-junction formula for the non-relativistic electron passing through the junction. Using this tunnel-junction formula, we propose a mathematical possibility of a tunnel-junction device fo…
