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arXiv:1304.4771

Short Time Quantum Propagator and Bohmian Trajectories

Maurice A. de Gosson, Basil J. Hiley

Published Apr 17, 2013• 9 citations
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Abstract

We begin by giving correct expressions for the short-time action; following the work of one of us and Makri--Miller. We use these estimates to derive a correct expression modulo modulo delta(t)sqr for the quantum propagator and we show that the quantum potential is negligible modulo delta(t)sqr for a point source. We finally prove that this implies that the quantum motion is classical for very short times.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1304.4771

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This thesis deals with the theoretical and experimental details of trying to understand \nand infer the quantum potential from Bohmian mechanics using Bohmian trajectories. In \nthis work, some of the key components of the history of Bohmian mechanics is given, a \ntheoretical explanation of how to measure the Bohmian potential, followed by an overview \nof the experimental apparatus and its components. Some tests of the experimental apparatus \nare then presented followed by a discussion of the results. Lastly, some interesting \nfollow up experiments are de ned and discussed. \n \nBohmian mechanics, while completely agreeing with quantum mechanics could not be \nmore di erent from the standard notions such as the fact that particles retain their classical \nidentity of a point like object that have de nite and causal trajectories. In this realm, rst \ndeveloped by de Broglie, these particles move and are guided by a wave, which turns out \nto be the wave function itself. Typically, the velocity of the particles anywhere in space \nis given by spatial derivatives of the phase of this wave and the energy content of the \nparticles is given by the temporal derivative. The trajectories can bend even when there \nare no outside (classical) forces that are acting on the objects. This is due to the fact that \nthese observations of Bohmian mechanics must conform to the standard measurements in \nquantum mechanics. \n \nOne detail that has gone unmeasured (in the sense of inference) in a laboratory setting, \nis the quantum potential (the mysterious force that moves particle to make sure they \nreproduce the measurements of quantum mechanics). Using the technique of measuring \nthe trajectories of photons, the question was asked, can the quantum potential for single \nphotons in the double slit be inferred? A setup has been built in order to try and answer this \nquestion using a single photon detecting camera and a heralding spontaneous parametric \ndown conversion source. Unfortunately, the quantum potential still goes unmeasured due \nto noise in the camera pictures destroying the integrity of the signal and an interesting \nproblem of trying to stitch together the quantum potential at the varying z-planes.

•Feb 20, 2018•1 citation
We begin by giving correct expressions for the short-time action; following the work of one of us and Makri--Miller. We use these estimates to derive a correct expression modulo modulo delta(t)sqr for the quantum propagator and we show that the quantum potential is negligible modulo delta(t)sqr for a point source. We finally prove that this implies that the quantum motion is classical for very short times.
In the Feynman formalism of quantum mechanics one encounters a postulate, namely, that the propagator in an infinitesimal time-interval is the classical wave function. This postulate, which was later studied thoroughly by Holland, was recently highlighted by using the improved Makri-Miller propagator. The present note, whose conclusion is in agreement with that recent achievement, demonstrates that the Heisenberg picture of quantum mechanics invariably includes the Feynman postulate and is able to yield a proof for it. In other words, by starting out from the Heisenberg picture, it is proved that when terms of second-order in time can be neglected, the dynamics of a system is classical.
We have shown in previous work that the equivalence of the Heisenberg and Schrödinger pictures of quantum mechanics requires the use of the Born and Jordan quantization rules. In the present work we give further evidence that the Born-Jordan rule is the correct quantization scheme for quantum mechanics. For this purpose we use correct short-time approximations to the action functional, initially due to Makri and Miller, and show that these lead to the desired quantization of the classical Hamiltonian.
In a recent paper [B. Poirier, Chem. Phys. 370, 4 (2010)], a formulation of quantum mechanics was presented for which the usual wavefunction and Schrödinger equation are replaced with an ensemble of real-valued trajectories satisfying a principle of least action. It was found that the resultant quantum trajectories are those of Bohmian mechanics. In this paper, analogous ideas are applied to Bohmian Mechanics with Complex Action (BOMCA). The standard BOMCA trajectories as previously defined are found not to satisfy an action principle. However, an alternate set of complex equations of motion is derived that does exhibit this desirable property, and an approximate numerical implementation is presented. Exact analytical results are also presented, for Gaussian wavepacket propagation under quadratic potentials.
This thesis deals with the theoretical and experimental details of trying to understand \nand infer the quantum potential from Bohmian mechanics using Bohmian trajectories. In \nthis work, some of the key components of the history of Bohmian mechanics is given, a \ntheoretical explanation of how to measure the Bohmian potential, followed by an overview \nof the experimental apparatus and its components. Some tests of the experimental apparatus \nare then presented followed by a discussion of the results. Lastly, some interesting \nfollow up experiments are de ned and discussed. \n \nBohmian mechanics, while completely agreeing with quantum mechanics could not be \nmore di erent from the standard notions such as the fact that particles retain their classical \nidentity of a point like object that have de nite and causal trajectories. In this realm, rst \ndeveloped by de Broglie, these particles move and are guided by a wave, which turns out \nto be the wave function itself. Typically, the velocity of the particles anywhere in space \nis given by spatial derivatives of the phase of this wave and the energy content of the \nparticles is given by the temporal derivative. The trajectories can bend even when there \nare no outside (classical) forces that are acting on the objects. This is due to the fact that \nthese observations of Bohmian mechanics must conform to the standard measurements in \nquantum mechanics. \n \nOne detail that has gone unmeasured (in the sense of inference) in a laboratory setting, \nis the quantum potential (the mysterious force that moves particle to make sure they \nreproduce the measurements of quantum mechanics). Using the technique of measuring \nthe trajectories of photons, the question was asked, can the quantum potential for single \nphotons in the double slit be inferred? A setup has been built in order to try and answer this \nquestion using a single photon detecting camera and a heralding spontaneous parametric \ndown conversion source. Unfortunately, the quantum potential still goes unmeasured due \nto noise in the camera pictures destroying the integrity of the signal and an interesting \nproblem of trying to stitch together the quantum potential at the varying z-planes.