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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Can Bohmian Mechanics Be Made Relativistic?, Detlef Dürr, Sheldon Goldstein, Travis Norsen, Ward Struyve, Nino Zaghì
Can Bohmian Mechanics Be Made Relativistic?, Detlef Dürr, Sheldon Goldstein, Travis Norsen, Ward Struyve, Nino Zaghì
Physics: Faculty Publications
In relativistic space-time, Bohmian theories can be formulated by introducing a privileged foliation of space-time. The introduction of such a foliation – as extra absolute space-time structure – would seem to imply a clear violation of Lorentz invariance, and thus a conflict with fundamental relativity. Here, we consider the possibility that, instead of positing it as extra structure, the required foliation could be covariantly determined by the wave function. We argue that this allows for the formulation of Bohmian theories that seem to qualify as fundamentally Lorentz invariant. We conclude with some discussion of whether or not they might also …
Yet Another Snapshot Of Foundational Attitudes Toward Quantum Mechanics, Travis Norsen, Sarah Nelson
Yet Another Snapshot Of Foundational Attitudes Toward Quantum Mechanics, Travis Norsen, Sarah Nelson
Physics: Faculty Publications
A survey probing respondents' views on various foundational issues in quantum mechanics was recently created by Schlosshauer, Kofler, and Zeilinger [arXiv:1301.1069] and then given to 33 participants at a quantum foundations conference. Here we report the results of giving this same survey to the attendees at another recent quantum foundations conference. While it is rather difficult to conclude anything of scientific significance from the poll, the results do strongly suggest several interesting cultural facts -- for example, that there exist, within the broad field of "quantum foundations", sub-communities with quite different views, and that (relatedly) there is probably …
The Pilot-Wave Perspective On Quantum Scattering And Tunneling, Travis Norsen
The Pilot-Wave Perspective On Quantum Scattering And Tunneling, Travis Norsen
Physics: Faculty Publications
The de Broglie-Bohm “pilot-wave” theory replaces the paradoxical wave-particle duality of ordinary quantum theory with a more mundane and literal kind of duality: each individual photon or electron comprises a quantum wave (evolving in accordance with the usual quantum mechanical wave equation) and a particle that, under the influence of the wave, traces out a definite trajectory. The definite particle trajectory allows the theory to account for the results of experiments without the usual recourse to additional dynamical axioms about measurements. Instead, one need simply assume that particle detectors click when particles arrive at them. This alternative understanding of quantum …