Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1004.1523 · Prespacetime journal

Physical Interpretations of Nilpotent Quantum Mechanics

Peter Rowlands

Published Apr 9, 2010• 13 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Nilpotent quantum mechanics provides a powerful method of making efficient calculations. More importantly, however, it provides insights into a number of fundamental physical problems through its use of a dual vector space and its explicit construction of vacuum. Physical interpretation of the nilpotent formalism is discussed with respect to boson and baryon structures, the mass-gap problem, zitterbewgung, Berry phase, renormalization, and related issues.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1004.1523

Related papers

Nilpotent Quantum Mechanics: Analogs and Applications

Peter J. Marcer, Peter Rowlands

The most significant characteristic of nilpotent quantum mechanics is that the quantum system (fermion state) and its environment (vacuum) are, in mathematical terms, mirror images of each other. So a change in one automatically leads to corresponding changes in the other. We have used this characteristic as a model for self-organization, which has applications well beyond quantum physics. The nilpotent structure has also been identified as being constructed from two commutative vector spaces. This construction has a number of identifiable characteristics which we can expect to find in systems where self-organization is dominant, and a case presented after the publication of a paper by us on ‘The ‘Logic’ of Self-Organizing Systems’,1 in the organization of the neurons in the visual cortex. We expect to find many more complex systems where our general principles, based, by analogy, on nilpotent quantum mechanics, will apply.

Frontiers in Physics•Jul 18, 2017•12 citations

Nilpotent quantum mechanics and SUSY

Andrzej Frydryszak

Formalism where fundamental variables are nilpotent, but in contrast to the super-mathematics, not anticommutative but commutative gives another version of realization of the Pauli exclusion principle. We discuss some aspects of nilpotent quantum mechanics realized in generalized Hilbert space of functions of nilpotent commuting variables. The qubits are natural objects described by such a formalism. Supersymmetric system of qubit and fermion is presented.

Physics of Particles and Nuclei Letters•May 1, 2011•2 citations

The formalisms and interpretations of quantum mechanics

Kefu Zhu

This chapter, based on the background information of the previous chapter, will review the formalism of quantum mechanics – its fundamental mathematical structure (the basic contents of Hilbert space representation and operator algebra representation) and physical assumptions (kinematics, dynamics, and measurement theory). These are the premise and foundation for discussing the quantum histories interpretation. Then, in combination with the viewpoints of some literature in recent years, we will explore what is the interpretation of quantum mechanics, analyze the relationship between the theory of quantum mechanics and its interpretation, and declare the author’s basic stance on these two issues. These two are the primary issues that all interpretive work in the philosophy of physics will face (not limited to the interpretation of quantum mechanics), and the necessary clarification here is also conducive to the subsequent discussion. Three common terms – theory, formalism, and interpretation – are explicated and differentiated by offering the necessary definitions of their meanings, based on the works of Acuña and Ruetsche. The clarification will help to make the subsequent related discussions more precise.

Routledge eBooks•Aug 22, 2025•0 citations

NILPOTENT QUANTUM MECHANICS

Andrzej Frydryszak

We develop a generalized quantum mechanical formalism based on the nilpotent commuting variables (η-variables). In the nonrelativistic case such formalism provides natural realization of a two-level system (qubit). Using the space of η-wavefunctions, η-Hilbert space and generalized Schrödinger equation we study properties of pure multiqubit systems and also properties of some composed, hybrid models: fermion–qubit, boson–qubit. The fermion–qubit system can be truly supersymmetric, with both SUSY partners having identical spectra. It is a novel feature that SUSY transformations relate here only nilpotent object. The η-eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian for the qubit–qubit system give the set of Bloch vectors as a natural basis.

International Journal of Modern Physics A•Feb 20, 2010•7 citations

Basic formalism

Bipin R. Desai

We summarize below some of the postulates and definitions basic to our formalism, and present some important results based on these postulates. The formalism is purely mathematical in nature with very little physics input, but it provides the structure within which the physical concepts that will be discussed in the later chapters will be framed. State vectors It is important to realize that the Quantum Theory is a linear theory in which the physical state of a system is described by a vector in a complex, linear vector space. This vector may represent a free particle or a particle bound in an atom or a particle interacting with other particles or with external fields. It is much like a vector in ordinary three-dimensional space, following many of the same rules, except that it describes a very complicated physical system. We will be elaborating further on this in the following. The mathematical structure of a quantum mechanical system will be presented in terms of the notations developed by Dirac. A physical state in this notation is described by a “ket” vector, |〉, designated variously as |α〉 or |ψ〉 or a ket with other appropriate symbols depending on the specific problem at hand. The kets can be complex. Their complex conjugates, |〉 * , are designated by 〈| which are called “bra” vectors. Thus, corresponding to every ket vector there is a bra vector. These vectors are abstract quantities whose physical interpretation is derived through their so-called “representatives” in the coordinate or momentum space or in a space appropriate to the problem under consideration.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Dec 3, 2009•0 citations

Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics and the Future of Physics

Enós E. Witmer

This paper deals with the problem of the interpretation of quantum mechanics, the nature of physical theory, and the future of physics. First, the question of why there are so many different interpretations of quantum mechanics proposed and accepted by outstanding quantum experts is treated. This requires a discussion of the relation between physics and philosophy and drawing a distinction between a physical formalism and a physical explanation. The Copenhagen interpretation is considered, criticized, and found to be unsatisfactory in some respects. Finally, an interpretation that contains ideas from previous interpretations but which may itself be new, is proposed. Hopefully, this is superior to the previous interpretations. It has, I believe, the advantage of logical clarity. In the process of doing this, I introduce a theory of levels of physical theory, according to which microscopic physical theory, as it develops in successive stages, becomes more and more adaptable to explaining—or at least taking cognizance of—fundamental biological or ultimately psychological phenomena.

American Journal of Physics•Jan 1, 1967•14 citations
Nilpotent quantum mechanics provides a powerful method of making efficient calculations. More importantly, however, it provides insights into a number of fundamental physical problems through its use of a dual vector space and its explicit construction of vacuum. Physical interpretation of the nilpotent formalism is discussed with respect to boson and baryon structures, the mass-gap problem, zitterbewgung, Berry phase, renormalization, and related issues.
The most significant characteristic of nilpotent quantum mechanics is that the quantum system (fermion state) and its environment (vacuum) are, in mathematical terms, mirror images of each other. So a change in one automatically leads to corresponding changes in the other. We have used this characteristic as a model for self-organization, which has applications well beyond quantum physics. The nilpotent structure has also been identified as being constructed from two commutative vector spaces. This construction has a number of identifiable characteristics which we can expect to find in systems where self-organization is dominant, and a case presented after the publication of a paper by us on ‘The ‘Logic’ of Self-Organizing Systems’,1 in the organization of the neurons in the visual cortex. We expect to find many more complex systems where our general principles, based, by analogy, on nilpotent quantum mechanics, will apply.
This chapter, based on the background information of the previous chapter, will review the formalism of quantum mechanics – its fundamental mathematical structure (the basic contents of Hilbert space representation and operator algebra representation) and physical assumptions (kinematics, dynamics, and measurement theory). These are the premise and foundation for discussing the quantum histories interpretation. Then, in combination with the viewpoints of some literature in recent years, we will explore what is the interpretation of quantum mechanics, analyze the relationship between the theory of quantum mechanics and its interpretation, and declare the author’s basic stance on these two issues. These two are the primary issues that all interpretive work in the philosophy of physics will face (not limited to the interpretation of quantum mechanics), and the necessary clarification here is also conducive to the subsequent discussion. Three common terms – theory, formalism, and interpretation – are explicated and differentiated by offering the necessary definitions of their meanings, based on the works of Acuña and Ruetsche. The clarification will help to make the subsequent related discussions more precise.
We develop a generalized quantum mechanical formalism based on the nilpotent commuting variables (η-variables). In the nonrelativistic case such formalism provides natural realization of a two-level system (qubit). Using the space of η-wavefunctions, η-Hilbert space and generalized Schrödinger equation we study properties of pure multiqubit systems and also properties of some composed, hybrid models: fermion–qubit, boson–qubit. The fermion–qubit system can be truly supersymmetric, with both SUSY partners having identical spectra. It is a novel feature that SUSY transformations relate here only nilpotent object. The η-eigenfunctions of the Hamiltonian for the qubit–qubit system give the set of Bloch vectors as a natural basis.
We summarize below some of the postulates and definitions basic to our formalism, and present some important results based on these postulates. The formalism is purely mathematical in nature with very little physics input, but it provides the structure within which the physical concepts that will be discussed in the later chapters will be framed. State vectors It is important to realize that the Quantum Theory is a linear theory in which the physical state of a system is described by a vector in a complex, linear vector space. This vector may represent a free particle or a particle bound in an atom or a particle interacting with other particles or with external fields. It is much like a vector in ordinary three-dimensional space, following many of the same rules, except that it describes a very complicated physical system. We will be elaborating further on this in the following. The mathematical structure of a quantum mechanical system will be presented in terms of the notations developed by Dirac. A physical state in this notation is described by a “ket” vector, |〉, designated variously as |α〉 or |ψ〉 or a ket with other appropriate symbols depending on the specific problem at hand. The kets can be complex. Their complex conjugates, |〉 * , are designated by 〈| which are called “bra” vectors. Thus, corresponding to every ket vector there is a bra vector. These vectors are abstract quantities whose physical interpretation is derived through their so-called “representatives” in the coordinate or momentum space or in a space appropriate to the problem under consideration.
This paper deals with the problem of the interpretation of quantum mechanics, the nature of physical theory, and the future of physics. First, the question of why there are so many different interpretations of quantum mechanics proposed and accepted by outstanding quantum experts is treated. This requires a discussion of the relation between physics and philosophy and drawing a distinction between a physical formalism and a physical explanation. The Copenhagen interpretation is considered, criticized, and found to be unsatisfactory in some respects. Finally, an interpretation that contains ideas from previous interpretations but which may itself be new, is proposed. Hopefully, this is superior to the previous interpretations. It has, I believe, the advantage of logical clarity. In the process of doing this, I introduce a theory of levels of physical theory, according to which microscopic physical theory, as it develops in successive stages, becomes more and more adaptable to explaining—or at least taking cognizance of—fundamental biological or ultimately psychological phenomena.