We consider the model of the self-gravity driven spontaneous wavefunction reduction proposed by L. Diosi, R. Penrose et al. and based on a self-consistent system of Schrödinger and Poisson equations. An analogous system of coupled Dirac and Maxwell-like equations is proposed as a relativization. Regular solutions to the latter form a discrete spectrum in which all the “active” gravitational masses are always positive, and approximately equal to inertial masses and to the mass [Formula: see text] of the quanta of Dirac field up to the corrections of order [Formula: see text]. Here [Formula: see text] is the gravitational analogue of the fine structure constant negligibly small for nucleons. In the limit [Formula: see text] the model reduces back to the nonrelativistic Schrödinger-Newton one. The equivalence principle is fulfilled with an extremely high precision. The above solutions correspond to various states of the same (free) particle rather than to different particles. These states possess a negligibly small difference in characteristics but essentially differ in the widths of the wavefunctions. For the ground state the latter is [Formula: see text] times larger the Compton length, so that a nucleon cannot be sufficiently localized to model the reduction process.
We consider the model of the self-gravity driven spontaneous wavefunction reduction proposed by L. Diosi, R. Penrose et al. and based on a self-consistent system of Schrödinger and Poisson equations. An analogous system of coupled Dirac and Maxwell-like equations is proposed as a relativization. Regular solutions to the latter form a discrete spectrum in which all the “active” gravitational masses are always positive, and approximately equal to inertial masses and to the mass [Formula: see text] of the quanta of Dirac field up to the corrections of order [Formula: see text]. Here [Formula: see text] is the gravitational analogue of the fine structure constant negligibly small for nucleons. In the limit [Formula: see text] the model reduces back to the nonrelativistic Schrödinger-Newton one. The equivalence principle is fulfilled with an extremely high precision. The above solutions correspond to various states of the same (free) particle rather than to different particles. These states possess a negligibly small difference in characteristics but essentially differ in the widths of the wavefunctions. For the ground state the latter is [Formula: see text] times larger the Compton length, so that a nucleon cannot be sufficiently localized to model the reduction process.
The Schr\"odinger-Newton model describes self-gravitating quantum particles, and it is often cited to explain the gravitational collapse of the wave function and the localization of macroscopic objects. However, this model is completely nonrelativistic. Thus, in order to study whether the relativistic effects may spoil the properties of this system, we derive a modification of the Schr\"odinger-Newton equation by considering certain relativistic corrections up to the first post-Newtonian order. The construction of the model begins by considering the Hamiltonian of a relativistic particle propagating on a curved background. For simplicity, the background metric is assumed to be spherically symmetric, and it is then expanded up to the first post-Newtonian order. After performing the canonical quantization of the system, and following the usual interpretation, the square of the module of the wave function defines a mass distribution, which in turn is the source of the Poisson equation for the gravitational potential. As in the nonrelativistic case, this construction couples the Poisson and the Schr\"odinger equations and leads to a complicated nonlinear system. Hence, the dynamics of an initial Gaussian wave packet is then numerically analyzed. We observe that the natural dispersion of the wave function is slower than in the nonrelativistic case. Furthermore, for those cases that reach a final localized stationary state, the peak of the wave function happens to be located at a smaller radius. Therefore, the relativistic corrections effectively contribute to increase the self-gravitation of the particle and strengthen the validity of this model as an explanation for the gravitational localization of the wave function.
Abstract We probe the dynamics of a modified form of the Schrödinger–Newton (SN) system of gravity coupled to single particle quantum mechanics. At the masses of interest here, the ones associated with the onset of ‘collapse’ (where the gravitational attraction is competitive with the quantum mechanical dissipation), we show that the Schrödinger ground state energies match the Dirac ones with an error of . At the Planck mass scale, we predict the critical mass at which a potential collapse could occur for the self-coupled gravitational case, Planck mass, and show that gravitational attraction opposes Gaussian spreading at around this value, which is a factor of two higher than the one predicted (and verified) for the SN system. Unlike the SN dynamics, we do not find that the self-coupled case tends to decay towards its ground state; there is no collapse in this case.
We investigate the Di\'osi-Penrose (DP) proposal for connecting the collapse of the wave function to gravity. The DP model needs a free parameter, acting as a cutoff to regularize the dynamics, and the predictions of the model highly depend on the value of this cutoff. The Compton wavelength of a nucleon seems to be the most reasonable cutoff value since it justifies the nonrelativistic approach. However, with this value, the DP model predicts an unrealistically high rate of energy increase. Thus, either one is forced to choose a much larger cutoff, which is not physically justified and totally arbitrary, or one needs to include dissipative effects in order to tame the energy increase. Taking the analogy with dissipative collisional decoherence seriously, we develop a dissipative generalization of the DP model. We show that even with dissipative effects, the DP model contradicts known physical facts, unless either the cutoff is kept artificially large or one limits the applicability of the model to massive systems. We also provide an estimation for the mass range of this applicability.
“Despite almost a century’s worth of study, it is still unclear how general relativity (GR) and quantum theory (QT) should be unified into a consistent theory. The conventional approach is to retain the foundational principles of QT, such as the superposition principle, and modify GR. This is referred to as ‘quantizing gravity’, resulting in a theory of ‘quantum gravity’. The opposite approach is ‘gravitizing QT’ where we attempt to keep the principles of GR, such as the equivalence principle, and consider how this leads to modifications of QT. What we are most lacking in understanding which route to take, if either, is experimental guidance. Here we consider using the Dirac–Pauli representation of free Dirac equation to search for the clues. In particular, we study how the double-slit diffraction experiment, when only one Dirac particle (‘say’ electron) at a time is in the apparatus, could test a gravitizing QT proposal in which the wavefunction collapse emerges on the detector screen from the Dirac–Pauli representation, as an objective process, resolving the measurement problem of QT.” [1] We found that the Dirac–Pauli representation is inherently a unified theory embodying a gravitizing QT proposal that Dirac–Pauli representation as wave nature is manifestation of inertial mass and the Foldy-Wouthuysen representation as particle nature is manifestation of gravitational mass such that the fact, that same physics is involved in these two representations, is simply the validity and exhibition of the principle of equivalence, of GR, in QT. [1] Richard Howl et al 2019 New J. Phys. 21 043047 DOI 10.1088/1367-2630/ab104a
In a previous paper, we showed that the Hamilton equations of motion of a quantum particle are obtained as group velocities of the wave packet describing this particle only if the time dependent phase of a particle wave is proportional to the Lagrangian, not to the Hamiltonian as in a solution of the conventional Schrodinger equation. When a Lagrangian of relativistic form is considered, the wave packet of a quantum particle takes a physical form, with a finite spectrum of a cut off velocity (c). Based on a relativistic quantum principle, asserting the invariance of the time dependent phase for an arbitrary change of coordinates, we obtained the relativistic kinematics and dynamics, the electromagnetic field equations, the spin and the electromagnetic and gravitational interactions. When the Lagrangian is considered as a function of the Hamiltonian, we obtain a Schrodinger type equation with an additional term depending on the velocity and the momentum operator. Based on this equation, we investigate the dynamics of a relativistic quantum particle. In this framework, such a particle is described as a continuous distribution of conservative matter, according to the general theory of relativity. In an electromagnetic field, any time dependent phase variation is modified with a term proportional to a vector potential conjugated to the spatial coordinates and a scalar potential conjugated to time. However, this classical description tells us nothing about the structure of the physical world. Only Quantum Mechanics tells us something about the structure of this world. Namely, that this world is composed of species of identical quantum particles. On one hand, experimentally, it has been found that these particles are of a wavy nature. On the other hand, one could find that the simplest way to define a quantum particle is by a wave packet, with momenta conjugated to coordinates and energy conjugated to time Consider a quantum particle as a wave packet, and find that the group velocities in the coordinate and momentum spaces are in agreement with the Hamilton equations only when the Lagrangian is considered in the time dependent phases, instead of the Hamiltonian in the conventional forms of these waves as solutions of the Schrodinger equation. We define a relativistic quantum principle, and derive a wave equation for a relativistic quantum particle, the relativistic kinematics and dynamics of the particle waves, the Maxwell equations and the Lorentz force of a field interacting with the particle waves, the relativistic transform of such a field, and the spin as a characteristic of the particle waves. We consider a quantum particle as a distribution of conservative matter propagating according to the General Theory of Relativity. We obtain the dynamics of this matter in a gravitational field, the propagation in plane waves perpendicular to geodesic tracks, and equations of conservation. We describe the matter dynamics as a positively defined density and show that, according to the general theory of relativity, such a distribution can be conceive only as of a fragment of matter with a finite mass equal to a mass , as a characteristic of the matter dynamics, – the matter quantization. The group velocities of the Fourier conjugate representations in the coordinate and momentum spaces describe the dynamics of a quantum particle in agreement with the Hamiltonian equations. Under the action of an external (non-gravitational) field, the acceleration of the quantum matter has two components: 1) A component perpendicular to the velocity, given by the relativistic mechanical component of the time dependent phase, and 2) A component given by the additional field terms of this phase. A free quantum particle is described by a non-dispersing wave function , contrary to the solution of the Schrodinger equation. A coherent electromagnetic field, in resonance with a system of active quantum particles in a Fabry-Perot cavity, has a wave vector approximately proportional to the metric elements, as the resonance frequency is approximately constant – a gravitational wave can be detected by the transmission characteristics of an active Fabry-Perot cavity. In a constant gravitational field, a quantum particle undertakes a velocity and an acceleration, which, at the boundary of a black hole are null – absorption and evaporation processes at the boundary of a black hole arise only by gravitational perturbations. Generally, a quantum particle is described by a time-space volume, called graviton, with a spin 2, and a distribution of a specific matter in this volume, with a half-integer spin for Fermions and an integer spin for Bosons. A graviton Lagrangian is obtained as a curvature integral on a graviton volume, and a Hamiltonian tensor is obtained for the gravitational coordinates and velocities. In a gravitational field, the time space coordinates are deformed. In such a field, any plane wave remains perpendicular geodesic, while an additional acceleration is possible in the wave plane.
The Schrödinger-Newton equation aims at describing the dynamics of massive quantum systems subject to the gravitational self-interaction. As a deterministic nonlinear quantum wave equation, it is generally believed to conflict with the relativistic no-signalling principle. Here we challenge this viewpoint and show that it is of key importance to study the quantitative and operational character of the superluminal effects. To this end we employ a rigorous formalism of probability measures on spacetime and quantify the probability of a successful superluminal bit transfer via the single-particle Schrödinger-Newton equation. We demonstrate that such a quantity decreases with the increasing size and mass of the system. Furthermore, we prove that the Einstein-Dirac system, which yields the Schrödinger-Newton equation in the non-relativistic limit, is perfectly compatible with the relativistic causal structure. Our study demonstrates that the Schrödinger-Newton equation, which is by construction non-relativistic, is in fact `more compatible' with the no-signalling principle than the ordinary free Schrödinger equation.