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arXiv:1711.03181

Covariant entropic dynamics: from path independence to Hamiltonians and quantum theory

Selman Ipek

Published Nov 8, 2017• 0 citations
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Abstract

Entropic Dynamics (ED) is an inference-based framework that seeks to construct dynamical theories of physics without assuming the conventional formalism --- the Hamiltonians, Poisson brackets, Hilbert spaces, etc. --- typically associated with physics. In this work we develop an ED of scalar fields that is both quantum and manifestly covariant. The framework for accomplishing this is inspired by the covariant methods of Dirac, Teitelboim, and Kuchar. In addition to the ostensible result of a covariant quantum ED, we also show how the covariance requirement of path independence proposed by Teitelboim is sufficient for a derivation of Hamiltonian dynamics and also provides a proof of uniqueness for the quantum potential that leads to quantum theory.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1711.03181

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Entropic Dynamics (ED) is an inference-based framework that seeks to construct dynamical theories of physics without assuming the conventional formalism --- the Hamiltonians, Poisson brackets, Hilbert spaces, etc. --- typically associated with physics. In this work we develop an ED of scalar fields that is both quantum and manifestly covariant. The framework for accomplishing this is inspired by the covariant methods of Dirac, Teitelboim, and Kuchar. In addition to the ostensible result of a covariant quantum ED, we also show how the covariance requirement of path independence proposed by Teitelboim is sufficient for a derivation of Hamiltonian dynamics and also provides a proof of uniqueness for the quantum potential that leads to quantum theory.
Entropic Dynamics (ED) is a framework for constructing dynamical theories of inference using the tools of inductive reasoning. A central feature of the ED framework is the special focus placed on time. In [2] a global entropic time was used to derive a quantum theory of relativistic scalar fields. This theory, however, suffered from a lack of explicit or manifest Lorentz symmetry. In this paper we explore an alternative formulation in which the relativistic aspects of the theory are manifest.The approach we pursue here is inspired by the methods of Dirac, Kuchař, and Teitelboim in their development of covariant Hamiltonian approaches. The key ingredient here is the adoption of a local notion of entropic time, which allows compatibility with an arbitrary notion of simultaneity. However, in order to ensure that the evolution does not depend on the particular sequence of hypersurfaces, we must impose a set of constraints that guarantee a consistent evolution.
Entropic Dynamics (ED) is a framework in which Quantum Mechanics is derived as an application of entropic methods of inference. In ED the dynamics of the probability distribution is driven by entropy subject to constraints that are codified into a quantity later identified as the phase of the wave function. The central challenge is to specify how those constraints are themselves updated. In this paper we review and extend the ED framework in several directions. A new version of ED is introduced in which particles follow smooth differentiable Brownian trajectories (as opposed to non-differentiable Brownian paths). To construct ED we make use of the fact that the space of probabilities and phases has a natural symplectic structure (i.e., it is a phase space with Hamiltonian flows and Poisson brackets). Then, using an argument based on information geometry, a metric structure is introduced. It is shown that the ED that preserves the symplectic and metric structures—which is a Hamilton-Killing flow in phase space—is the linear Schrödinger equation. These developments allow us to discuss why wave functions are complex and the connections between the superposition principle, the single-valuedness of wave functions, and the quantization of electric charges. Finally, it is observed that Hilbert spaces are not necessary ingredients in this construction. They are a clever but merely optional trick that turns out to be convenient for practical calculations.
Entropic Dynamics is an information-based framework that seeks to derive the laws of physics as an application of the methods of entropic inference. The dynamics is derived by maximizing an entropy subject to constraints that represent the physically relevant information that the motion is continuous and non-dissipative. Here we focus on the quantum theory of scalar fields. We provide an entropic derivation of Hamiltonian dynamics and using concepts from information geometry derive the standard quantum field theory in the Schrödinger representation.
Entropic Dynamics is a framework for deriving the laws of physics from entropic inference. In an (ED) of particles, the central assumption is that particles have definite yet unknown positions. By appealing to certain symmetries, one can derive a quantum mechanics of scalar particles and particles with spin, in which the trajectories of the particles are given by a stochastic equation. This is much like Nelson’s stochastic mechanics which also assumes a fluctuating particle as the basis of the microstates. The uniqueness of ED as an entropic inference of particles allows one to continuously transition between fluctuating particles and the smooth trajectories assumed in Bohmian mechanics. In this work we explore the consequences of the ED framework by studying the trajectories of particles in the continuum between stochastic and Bohmian limits in the context of a few physical examples, which include the double slit and Stern-Gerlach experiments.
In the Entropic Dynamics framework quantum theory is derived as an application of the method of maximum entropy. In previous work the entropic dynamics of relativistic quantum scalar fields was formulated in the Schroedinger functional representation in which the Lorentz symmetry is not manifest. Here the formalism is extended to curved spacetimes. We develop a manifestly covariant approach inspired by the Hamiltonian methods of Dirac, Kuchar, and Teitelboim. The key ingredient is the adoption of a local notion of entropic time in which instants are defined on curved three-dimensional surfaces and time evolution consists of the accumulation of changes induced by local deformations of these surfaces.
It has often been the case in history that the laws of physics have been used as the framework for understanding and implementing information processing. The tacit assumption is that the laws of physics are fundamental and that the notion of information is derived from these laws. Here we take the opposite view: the laws of physics are an application of the rules for processing information. The inferential framework of entropic dynamics (ED) has previously been developed by A. Caticha for the purposes of understanding and deriving quantum theory, in much the same way that E.T. Jaynes used the MaxEnt approach to derive the formalism of statistical mechanics. In this thesis we apply the ED framework to construct a quantum dynamics for scalar fields in space-time.