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arXiv:2604.17507 · Entropy

Arrival-time distributions as a probe of the preferred foliation in relativistic Bohmian mechanics

Arnaud Amblard, Aurélien Drezet

quant-phSubmitted Apr 19, 2026• Announced Apr 21, 2026• 0 citations• Revised Sep 14, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Apr 19, 2026v2 · Sep 14, 2026
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Abstract

Relativistic extensions of de Broglie-Bohm theory postulate a preferred foliation of space-time, an additional structure essential for defining simultaneous configurations on Minkowski space-time, but conventionally believed to be empirically undetectable at quantum equilibrium. In this paper, we outline an experimental protocol for empirically detecting the preferred foliation, which is assumed to be flat for simplicity. Building on the arrival-time distributions for spin-1/2 particles predicted by Das and Dürr, we show that in an EPRB-type experiment with spacelike-separated spin and arrival-time measurements, the observed arrival-time statistics will depend crucially on the temporal order of these measurements relative to the preferred foliation of space-time. This dependence offers a potential experimental signature of the preferred foliation postulated by relativistic Bohmian models. Moreover, it implies the possibility of superluminal signaling.

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Relativistic extensions of de Broglie-Bohm theory postulate a preferred foliation of space-time, an additional structure essential for defining simultaneous configurations on Minkowski space-time, but conventionally believed to be empirically undetectable at quantum equilibrium. In this paper, we outline an experimental protocol for empirically detecting the preferred foliation, which is assumed to be flat for simplicity. Building on the arrival-time distributions for spin-1/2 particles predicted by Das and Dürr, we show that in an EPRB-type experiment with spacelike-separated spin and arrival-time measurements, the observed arrival-time statistics will depend crucially on the temporal order of these measurements relative to the preferred foliation of space-time. This dependence offers a potential experimental signature of the preferred foliation postulated by relativistic Bohmian models. Moreover, it implies the possibility of superluminal signaling.
It is well known that orthodox quantum mechanics does not make unambiguous predictions for the statistics in arrival time (or time-of-flight) experiments. Bohmian mechanics (or de Broglie--Bohm theory) offers a distinct conceptual advantage in this regard, owing to the well-defined concepts of point particles and trajectories embedded in this theory. We revisit a recently proposed experiment [S. Das and D. D\"urr, Sci. Rep. 9, 2242 (2019)], the numerical analysis of which revealed a striking spin dependence in the (Bohmian) time-of-arrival distributions of a spin-1/2 particle. We present here a mathematically tractable variant of the same experiment, where the predicted effects can be established rigorously. We also obtain some results that can be compared with experiment.
In this work, we analyze recent proposals by Das and Dürr (DD) to measure the arrival time distributions of quantum particles within the framework of de Broglie Bohm theory (or Bohmian mechanics). We also analyze the criticisms made by Goldstein Tumulka and Zanghì (GTZ) of these same proposals, and show that each protagonist is both right and wrong. In detail, we show that DD’s predictions are indeed measurable in principle, but that they will not lead to violations of the no-signalling theorem used in Bell’s theorem, in contradiction with some of Das and Maudlin’s hopes.
The prediction of arrival time or first passage time statistics of a quantum particle is an open problem, which challenges the foundations of quantum theory. One of the most promising and insightful approaches to this problem stems from the de Broglie-Bohm pilot-wave theory (a.k.a Bohmian mechanics). Applying the fundamental postulates of this theory, we analyze a simplified first passage time experiment and derive the empirical passage time distribution Π(τ)Π(τ)Π(τ). Implications of our results are also discussed.
The extension of Bohmian mechanics to the relativistic domain, and to quantum field theory presents specific theoretical difficulties. The non-local nature of the pilot-wave guidance equations inherently requires a temporal ordering of spacelike separated events. Historically, this requirement has been satisfied by introducing an arbitrary preferred foliation of spacetime, which leads to covariance concerns. Furthermore, the standard Bohmian particle model struggles to accommodate particle creation and annihilation events, which are characteristic of quantum field theory (QFT). This paper constructs a theoretical framework that is rigorously Lorentz-invariant, and compatible with QFT. The proposed synthesis couples the Tomonaga-Schwinger equation for the relativistic wave functional with a hypersurface Bohm-Dirac model (HBDM). To ensure Lorentz invariance without adding absolute spatiotemporal structure, the necessary foliation is covariantly determined by the universal wave function. To address particle non-conservation, the deterministic trajectories are supplemented by a Bell-type stochastic Markov jump process defined on Fock space, utilizing minimal jump rates derived directly from the interaction Hamiltonian. A hybrid model is adopted, assigning localized particle beables to fermions, and continuous field beables to bosons. The exact equivariance of the probability distributions across the covariantly defined leaves of the foliation is proven, demonstrating that the model reproduces the empirical predictions of standard regularized QFT. In an appendix, we discuss the modeling of neutrinos. Finally, this framework is interpreted with the multi-fold theory. In this context, the covariantly determined foliation emerges physically from a discrete, non-commutative spacetime concretized by 2D random walks of massless Higgs bosons. The multi-fold mechanism and the E/G conjecture (entanglement is gravity) provide a local, physical model for the non-local Bohmian guidance equations, while space-time matter induction and scattering explain the origin of the proposed hybrid field-particle beables as patterns and condensates of these random walks. Sizes or scales also align with multi-fold modeling of QFT with 2D random walks, and spacetime non-commutativity to support Quantum Physics and Fermions. These add to many examples where the multi-fold preons as massless Higgs bosons can microscopically interpretate Quantum Physics behaviors.
Abstract How to compute the probability distribution of a detection time, i.e., of the time which a detector registers as the arrival time of a quantum particle, is a long-debated problem. In this regard, Bohmian mechanics provides in a straightforward way the distribution of the time at which the particle actually does arrive at a given surface in 3-space in the absence of detectors. However, as we discuss here, since the presence of detectors can change the evolution of the wave function and thus the particle trajectories, it cannot be taken for granted that the arrival time of the Bohmian trajectories in the absence of detectors agrees with the one in the presence of detectors, and even less with the detection time. In particular, we explain why certain distributions that Das and Dürr (Sci. Rep. 9: 2242, 2019) presented as the distribution of the detection time in a case with spin, based on assuming that all three times mentioned coincide, are actually not what Bohmian mechanics predicts.
In relativistic space-time, Bohmian theories can be formulated by introducing a privileged foliation of space-time. The introduction of such a foliation-as extra absolute space-time structure-would seem to imply a clear violation of Lorentz invariance, and thus a conflict with fundamental relativity. Here, we consider the possibility that, instead of positing it as extra structure, the required foliation could be covariantly determined by the wave function. We argue that this allows for the formulation of Bohmian theories that seem to qualify as fundamentally Lorentz invariant. We conclude with some discussion of whether or not they might also qualify as fundamentally relativistic.