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arXiv:1611.02107

When Canonical Quantization Fails, Here is How to Fix It

John R. Klauder

Published Nov 7, 2016• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Following Dirac, the rules of canonical quantization include classical and quantum contact transformations of classical and quantum phase space variables. While arbitrary classical canonical coordinate transformations exist that is not the case for some analogous quantum canonical coordinate transformations. This failure is due to the rigid connection of quantum variables arising by promoting the corresponding classical variable from a $c$-number to a $q$-number. A different relationship of $c$-numbers and $q$-numbers in the procedures of Enhanced Quantization shows the compatibility of all quantum operators with all classical canonical coordinate transformations.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1611.02107

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Following Dirac, the rules of canonical quantization include classical and quantum contact transformations of classical and quantum phase space variables. While arbitrary classical canonical coordinate transformations exist that is not the case for some analogous quantum canonical coordinate transformations. This failure is due to the rigid connection of quantum variables arising by promoting the corresponding classical variable from a ccc-number to a qqq-number. A different relationship of ccc-numbers and qqq-numbers in the procedures of Enhanced Quantization shows the compatibility of all quantum operators with all classical canonical coordinate transformations.
Canonical quantization relies on Cartesian, canonical, phase-space coordinates to promote to Hermitian operators, which also become the principal ingredients in the quantum Hamiltonian. While generally appropriate, this procedure can also fail, e.g., for covariant, quartic, scalar fields in five-and-more spacetime dimensions (and possibly four spacetime dimensions as well), which become trivial; such failures are normally blamed on the `problem' rather than on the `quantization procedure'. In Enhanced Quantization the association of ccc-numbers to qqq-numbers is chosen very differently such that: (i) there is no need to seek classical, Cartesian, phase-space coordinates; (ii) {\it every} classical, contact transformation is applicable and {\it no} change of the quantum operators arises; (iii) a new understanding of the importance of `Cartesian coordinates' is established; and (iv) although discussed elsewhere in detail, the procedures of enhanced quantization offer fully acceptable solutions yielding non-trivial results for quartic scalar fields in four-and-more spacetime dimensions. In early sections, this paper offers a wide-audience approach to the basic principles of Enhanced Quantization using simple examples; later, several significant examples are cited for a deeper understanding. An historical note concludes the paper.
Abstract While canonical quantization solves many problems there are some problems where it fails. A close examination of the classical/quantum connection leads to a new connection that permits quantum and classical realms to coexist, as is the case in the real world. For those problems for which conventional quantization works well, the new procedures yield identical results. However, we offer an example that fails when quantized conventionally but succeeds when quantized with the new procedures.
A careful study of the classical/quantum connection with the aid of coherent states offers new insights into various technical problems. This analysis includes both canonical as well as closely related affine quantization procedures. The new tools are applied to several examples including: (1) A quantum formulation that is invariant under arbitrary classical canonical transformations of coordinates; (2) A toy model that for all positive energy solutions has singularities which are removed at the classical level when the correct quantum corrections are applied; (3) A fairly simple model field theory with non-trivial classical behavior that, when conventionally quantized, becomes trivial, but nevertheless finds a proper solution using the enhanced procedures; (4) A model of scalar field theories with non-trivial classical behavior that, when conventionally quantized, becomes trivial, but nevertheless finds a proper solution using the enhanced procedures; (5) A viable formulation of the kinematics of quantum gravity that respects the strict positivity of the spatial metric in both its classical and quantum versions; and (6) A proposal for a non-trivial quantization of [Formula: see text] that is ripe for study by Monte Carlo computational methods. All of these examples use fairly general arguments that can be understood by a broad audience.