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Physical Review A

Precausal quantum mechanics

Charles L. Bennett

Published Nov 1, 1987• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

It is pointed out that both classical Wheeler-Feynman electrodynamics and its finite quantized generalization inevitably lead to microscopic causality violation. As there is some evidence for such effects in proton Compton scattering, there is possibly reason to prefer such absorber theories of action at a distance over field theories as the more reasonable microscopic description of nature.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.36.4139

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It is pointed out that both classical Wheeler-Feynman electrodynamics and its finite quantized generalization inevitably lead to microscopic causality violation. As there is some evidence for such effects in proton Compton scattering, there is possibly reason to prefer such absorber theories of action at a distance over field theories as the more reasonable microscopic description of nature.
Einstein held that the formalism of quantum mechanics involves “spooky actions at a distance.” In the 1960s, Bell amplified this by showing that the predictions of quantum mechanics disagree with the results of any locally causal description. It should be appreciated that accepting nonlocal descriptions while retaining causality leads to a clash with relativity. Furthermore, the causal arrow of time by definition contradicts time-reversal symmetry. For these reasons, Wheeler and Feynman, Costa de Beauregard, Cramer, Price, and others have advocated abandoning microscopic causality. In this paper, a simplistic but concrete example of this line of thought is presented, in the form of a retro-causal toy model that is stochastic and provides an appealing description of the quantum correlations discussed by Bell. It is concluded that Einstein’s “spooky actions” may occur “in the past” rather than “at a distance,” resolving the tension between quantum mechanics and relativity and opening unexplored possibilities for future reformulations of quantum mechanics.
The quantization of Wheeler-Feynman direct interparticle action electrodynamics is refined and extended to the relativistic domain, using the S-matrix technique developed previously. The analysis is effected on the exact expression for S, rather than the perturbation expansion. Source particles are treated as indistinguishable fermions with antiparticles. The response of the universe is incorporated in a general way, without allusion to specific absorber mechanisms. All the results of conventional QED emerge, provided one makes certain cosmological assumptions.
A generalized form of Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory is used to explain the quantum-mechanical paradox proposed by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR). The advanced solutions of the electromagnetic wave equation and of relativistic quantum-mechanical wave equations are shown to play the role of "verifier" in quantum-mechanical "transactions," providing microscopic communication paths between detectors across spacelike intervals in violation of the EPR locality postulate. The principle of causality is discussed in the context of this approach, and possibilities for experimental tests of the theory are examined.