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Conservation Laws And The Foundations Of Quantum Mechanics, Yakir Aharonov, Sandu Popescu, Daniel Rohrlich
Conservation Laws And The Foundations Of Quantum Mechanics, Yakir Aharonov, Sandu Popescu, Daniel Rohrlich
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
In a recent paper, [Y. Aharonov, S. Popescu, D. Rohrlich, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.118 e1921529118 (2021)], it was argued that while the standard definition of conservation laws in quantum mechanics, which is of a statistical character, is perfectly valid, it misses essential features of nature and it can and must be revisited to address the issue of conservation/nonconservation in individual cases. Specifically, in the above paper, an experiment was presented in which it can be proven that in some individual cases, energy is not conserved, despite being conserved statistically. It was felt however that this is worrisome and …
On Conservation Laws In Quantum Mechanics, Yakir Aharonov, Sandu Popescu, Daniel Rohrlich
On Conservation Laws In Quantum Mechanics, Yakir Aharonov, Sandu Popescu, Daniel Rohrlich
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
Conservation laws are one of the most important aspects of nature. As such, they have been intensively studied and extensively applied, and are considered to be perfectly well established. We, however, raise fundamental question about the very meaning of conservation laws in quantum mechanics. We argue that, although the standard way in which conservation laws are defined in quantum mechanics is perfectly valid as far as it goes, it misses essential features of nature and has to be revisited and extended.
Conservation Of The Spin And Orbital Angular Momenta In Electromagnetism, Konstantin Y. Bliokh, Justin Dressel, Franco Nori
Conservation Of The Spin And Orbital Angular Momenta In Electromagnetism, Konstantin Y. Bliokh, Justin Dressel, Franco Nori
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
We review and re-examine the description and separation of the spin and orbital angular momenta (AM) of an electromagnetic field in free space. While the spin and orbital AM of light are not separately meaningful physical quantities in orthodox quantum mechanics or classical field theory, these quantities are routinely measured and used for applications in optics. A meaningful quantum description of the spin and orbital AM of light was recently provided by several authors, which describes separately conserved and measurable integral values of these quantities. However, the electromagnetic field theory still lacks corresponding locally conserved spin and orbital AM currents. …