Semi-classical theories are approximations to quantum theory that treat some degrees of freedom classically and others quantum mechanically. In the usual approach, the quantum degrees of freedom are described by a wave function which evolves according to some Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian that depends on the classical degrees of freedom. The classical degrees of freedom satisfy classical equations that depend on the expectation values of quantum operators. In this paper, we study an alternative approach based on Bohmian mechanics. In Bohmian mechanics the quantum system is not only described by the wave function, but also with additional variables such as particle positions or fields. By letting the classical equations of motion depend on these variables, rather than the quantum expectation values, a semi-classical approximation is obtained that is closer to the exact quantum results than the usual approach. We discuss the Bohmian semi-classical approximation in various contexts, such as nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity. The main motivation comes from quantum gravity. The quest for a quantum theory for gravity is still going on. Therefore a semi-classical approach where gravity is treated classically may be an approximation that already captures some quantum gravitational aspects. The Bohmian semi-classical theories will be derived from the full Bohmian theories. In the case there are gauge symmetries, like in quantum electrodynamics or quantum gravity, special care is required. In order to derive a consistent semi-classical theory it will be necessary to isolate gauge-independent dependent degrees of freedom from gauge degrees of freedom and consider the approximation where some of the former are considered classical.
Semi-classical theories are approximations to quantum theory that treat some degrees of freedom classically and others quantum mechanically. In the usual approach, the quantum degrees of freedom are described by a wave function which evolves according to some Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian that depends on the classical degrees of freedom. The classical degrees of freedom satisfy classical equations that depend on the expectation values of quantum operators. In this paper, we study an alternative approach based on Bohmian mechanics. In Bohmian mechanics the quantum system is not only described by the wave function, but also with additional variables such as particle positions or fields. By letting the classical equations of motion depend on these variables, rather than the quantum expectation values, a semi-classical approximation is obtained that is closer to the exact quantum results than the usual approach. We discuss the Bohmian semi-classical approximation in various contexts, such as nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity. The main motivation comes from quantum gravity. The quest for a quantum theory for gravity is still going on. Therefore a semi-classical approach where gravity is treated classically may be an approximation that already captures some quantum gravitational aspects. The Bohmian semi-classical theories will be derived from the full Bohmian theories. In the case there are gauge symmetries, like in quantum electrodynamics or quantum gravity, special care is required. In order to derive a consistent semi-classical theory it will be necessary to isolate gauge-independent dependent degrees of freedom from gauge degrees of freedom and consider the approximation where some of the former are considered classical.
Quantum gravity aims to describe gravity in quantum mechanical terms. How exactly this needs to be done remains an open question. Various proposals have been put on the table, such as canonical quantum gravity, loop quantum gravity, string theory, etc. These proposals often encounter technical and conceptual problems. In this chapter, we focus on canonical quantum gravity and discuss how many conceptual problems, such as the measurement problem and the problem of time, can be overcome by adopting a Bohmian point of view. In a Bohmian theory (also called pilot-wave theory or de Broglie-Bohm theory, after its originators de Broglie and Bohm), a system is described by certain variables in space-time such as particles or fields or something else, whose dynamics depends on the wave function. In the context of quantum gravity, these variables are a space-time metric and suitable variable for the matter fields (e.g., particles or fields). In addition to solving the conceptual problems, the Bohmian approach yields new applications and predictions in quantum cosmology. These include space-time singularity resolution, new types of semi-classical approximations to quantum gravity, and approximations for quantum perturbations moving in a quantum background.
Abstract We derive the quantum Einstein equations (which are the quantum generalisation of the Einstein equations of classical gravity) from Bohmian quantum gravity. Bohmian quantum gravity is a non-classical geometrodynamics (in the ADM formalism) which describes the time evolution of a three-geometry and of a matter field (or other matter degrees of freedom) on a three manifold. The evolution is determined by a velocity law which is defined by the wave function. The wave function itself satisfies the Wheeler–DeWitt equation. We cast the Bohmian dynamics into the form of the Einstein field equations, where the interesting novelty is a contribution to the energy–momentum tensor that depends on the quantum potential.
We study the back-reaction of quantum systems onto classical ones. Taking the starting point that semi-classical physics should be described at all times by a point in classical phase space and a quantum state in Hilbert space, we consider an unravelling approach, describing the system in terms of a classical-quantum trajectory. We derive the general form of the dynamics under the assumptions that the classical trajectories are continuous and the evolution is autonomous, and the requirement that the dynamics is linear and completely positive in the combined classical-quantum state. This requirement is necessary in order to consistently describe probabilities, and forces the dynamics to be stochastic when the back-reaction is non-zero. The resulting equations of motion are natural generalisations of the standard semi-classical equations of motion, but since the resulting dynamics is linear in the combined classical-quantum state, it does not lead to the pathologies which usually follow from evolution laws based on expectation values. In particular, the evolution laws we present account for correlations between the classical and quantum system, which resolves issues associated with other semi-classical approaches. In addition, despite a breakdown of predictability in the classical degrees of freedom, the quantum state evolves deterministically conditioned on the classical trajectory, provided a trade-off between decoherence and diffusion is saturated. As a result, the quantum state remains pure when conditioned on the classical trajectory. To illustrate these points, we numerically simulate a number of semi-classical toy models, including one of vacuum fluctuations as a source driving the expansion of the universe. Finally, we discuss the application of these results to semi-classical gravity, and the black-hole information problem.
Bohmian mechanics, also known as pilot-wave theory or de Broglie-Bohm theory, is a formulation of quantum mechanics whose fundamental axioms are not about what observers will see if they perform an experiment but about what happens in reality. It is therefore called a "quantum theory without observers," alongside with collapse theories and many-worlds theories and in contrast to orthodox quantum mechanics. It follows from these axioms that in a universe governed by Bohmian mechanics, observers will see outcomes with exactly the probabilities specified by the usual rules of quantum mechanics for empirical predictions. Specifically, Bohmian mechanics asserts that electrons and other elementary particles have a definite position at every time and move according to an equation of motion that is one of the fundamental laws of the theory and involves a wave function that evolves according to the usual Schrödinger equation. Bohmian mechanics is named after David Bohm (1917-1992), who was, although not the first to consider this theory, the first to realize (in 1952) that it actually makes correct predictions.
Abstract The recent experimental proposals by Bose et al. and Marletto et al. (BMV) outline a way to test for the quantum nature of gravity by measuring gravitationally induced differential phase accumulation over the superposed paths of two ∼ 10−14 kg masses. These authors outline the expected outcome of these experiments for semi-classical, quantum gravity and collapse models. It is found that both semi-classical and collapse models predict a lack of entanglement in the experimental results. This work predicts the outcome of the BMV experiment in Bohmian trajectory gravity - where classical gravity is assumed to couple to the particle configuration in each Bohmian path, as opposed to semi-classical gravity where gravity couples to the expectation value of the wave function, or of quantized gravity, where the gravitational field is itself in a quantum superposition. In the case of the BMV experiment, Bohmian trajectory gravity predicts that there will be quantum entanglement. This is surprising as the gravitational field is treated classically. A discussion of how Bohmian trajectory gravity can induce quantum entanglement for a non superposed gravitational field is put forward.
Bohmian mechanics, also known as pilot-wave theory or de Broglie-Bohm theory, is a formulation of mechanics whose fundamental axioms are not about what observers will see if they perform an experiment but about what happens in reality. It is therefore called a quantum theory without observers, alongside with collapse theories and many-worlds theories and in contrast to orthodox mechanics. It follows from these axioms that in a universe governed by Bohmian mechanics, observers will see outcomes with exactly the probabilities specified by the usual rules of mechanics for empirical predictions. Specifically, Bohmian mechanics asserts that electrons and other elementary particles have a definite position at every time and move according to an equation of motion that is one of the fundamental laws of the theory and involves a wave function that evolves according to the usual Schr\odinger equation. Bohmian mechanics is named after David Bohm (1917-1992), who was, although not the first to consider this theory, the first to realize (in 1952) that it actually makes correct predictions.