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Journal of Physics Conference Series

Pythagorean quantization, action(s) and the arrow of time

Dieter Schuch

Published Jun 1, 2010• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Searching for the first well-documented attempts of introducing some kind of "quantization" into the description of nature inevitably leads to the ancient Greeks, in particular Plato and Pythagoras. The question of finding the so-called Pythagorean triples, i.e., right-angled triangles with integer length of all three sides, is, surprisingly, connected with complex nonlinear Riccati equations that occur in time-dependent quantum mechanics. The complex Riccati equation together with the usual Newtonian equation of the system, leads to a dynamical invariant with the dimension of an action. The relation between this invariant and a conserved "angular momentum" for the motion in the complex plane will be determined. The "Pythagorean quantization" shows similarities with the quantum Hall effect and leads to an interpretation of Sommerfeld's fine structure constant that involves another quantum of action, the "least Coulombic action" e 2 / c . Since natural evolution is characterized by irreversibility and dissipation, the question of how these aspects can be incorporated into a quantum mechanical description arises. Two effective approaches that also both possess a dynamical invariant (like the one mentioned above) will be discussed. One uses an explicitly time-dependent (linear) Hamiltonian, whereas the other leads to a nonlinear Schrödinger equation with complex logarithmic nonlinearity. Both approaches can be transformed into each other via a non-unitary transformation that involves Schrödinger's original definition of a (complex) action via the wave function.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/237/1/012020

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Searching for the first well-documented attempts of introducing some kind of "quantization" into the description of nature inevitably leads to the ancient Greeks, in particular Plato and Pythagoras. The question of finding the so-called Pythagorean triples, i.e., right-angled triangles with integer length of all three sides, is, surprisingly, connected with complex nonlinear Riccati equations that occur in time-dependent quantum mechanics. The complex Riccati equation together with the usual Newtonian equation of the system, leads to a dynamical invariant with the dimension of an action. The relation between this invariant and a conserved "angular momentum" for the motion in the complex plane will be determined. The "Pythagorean quantization" shows similarities with the quantum Hall effect and leads to an interpretation of Sommerfeld's fine structure constant that involves another quantum of action, the "least Coulombic action" e 2 / c . Since natural evolution is characterized by irreversibility and dissipation, the question of how these aspects can be incorporated into a quantum mechanical description arises. Two effective approaches that also both possess a dynamical invariant (like the one mentioned above) will be discussed. One uses an explicitly time-dependent (linear) Hamiltonian, whereas the other leads to a nonlinear Schrödinger equation with complex logarithmic nonlinearity. Both approaches can be transformed into each other via a non-unitary transformation that involves Schrödinger's original definition of a (complex) action via the wave function.
In contrast with classical physics, complex quantities have a fundamental physical meaning in quantum physics and action, being essentially the quantized entity, should be given more attention instead of focusing mainly on Hamiltonians or Lagrangians that have the dimension of energy. Phase and amplitude of the complex quantities in (time-dependent and time-independent) quantum mechanics are not independent of each other but coupled via some conservation law. This coupling can be understood if the systems are described in terms of complex nonlinear Riccati equations. These equations not only enable a connection to the Pythagorean triples, probably the oldest and most abstract 'quantization' problem, but also lead to dynamical invariants with the dimension of action. Factorization of the corresponding operator provides generalized creation and annihilation operators, which is also possible for dissipative systems where no conventional Hamiltonian formalism exists. Formal similarities with other fields, particularly with nonlinear dynamics, are shown.
Quantum mechanics is essentially described in terms of complex quantities like wave functions. The interesting point is that phase and amplitude of the complex quantities are not independent of each other, but coupled by some kind of conservation law. This coupling exists in time-independent quantum mechanics as well as in in its time-dependent form. It can be traced back to a reformulation of quantum mechanics in terms of complex nonlinear Riccati equations, where the quadratic term in the latter equation explains the origin of the phase-amplitude coupling. Since realistic physical systems are always in contact with some kind of environment this aspect is also taken into account. It turns out that this dissipative effect can either affect the amplitude or the phase of the complex quantity describing the open quantum system. This suggests a relation between non-unitary transformations and gauge-transformations for these systems. A change of the amplitude also seems to be connected with a second quantum of action for "radial" changes, compared to ħ for "angular" changes, leading to an interpretation of Sommerfeld's constant.
Many phenomena in the observable macroscopic world obey nonlinear evolution equations while the microscopic world is governed by quantum mechanics, a fundamental theory that is supposedly linear. In order to combine these two worlds in a common formalism, at least one of them must sacrifice one of its dogmas. Linearizing nonlinear dynamics would destroy the fundamental property of this theory, however, it can be shown that quantum mechanics can be reformulated in terms of nonlinear Riccati equations. In a first step, it will be shown that the information about the dynamics of quantum systems with analytical solutions can not only be obtainable from the time-dependent Schrödinger equation but equally-well from a complex Riccati equation. Comparison with supersymmetric quantum mechanics shows that even additional information can be obtained from the nonlinear formulation. Furthermore, the time-independent Schrödinger equation can also be rewritten as a complex Riccati equation for any potential. Extension of the Riccati formulation to include irreversible dissipative effects is straightforward. Via (real and complex) Riccati equations, other fields of physics can also be treated within the same formalism, e.g., statistical thermodynamics, nonlinear dynamical systems like those obeying a logistic equation as well as wave equations in classical optics, Bose- Einstein condensates and cosmological models. Finally, the link to abstract "quantizations" such as the Pythagorean triples and Riccati equations connected with trigonometric and hyperbolic functions will be shown.
Sometimes matter behaves like a wave. In 1923 de Broglie saw that every moving particle carries a wave, in step with a clock riding with it. Physicists then described it in steps, each with its own mathematics: complex waves, matrices, sums over paths, and negative squared lengths. In our opinion, one mathematics is enough: the Euclidean arrow numbers, with no negative lengths; Minkowski's form survives only as the scalar part of a square. Arrow of Time gave measured time a Euclidean length; the arrow of matter, an octonion of a body's time and the time content of its energy, appears to describe a single body completely. The Euler wave, a rotating arrow, gives de Broglie's wave. With Shannon's source, carrier and detector, every physical law becomes a three-body problem: three-body relativity. Multiplying a potential by the arrow gradient, on either side, gives the left and right fields. A second gradient makes Maxwell's equations one arrow equation. On the Euler wave, the Maxwell operator gives the arrow Klein–Gordon equation and, at low speed, Schrödinger's. Without matrices, Euler waves give two arrow Dirac equations, with spin one half, g = 2, and Pauli's equation. The waves carry a conserved, positive density of matter; their turn along a path is the action, and on a closed path they are quantised, with Planck's constant and no quantum postulate. Our central proposal is that one electron is one wave: its squared length is that electron's density of matter, not a probability, and probabilities are this density averaged over a turn with an unknown time. Schrödinger's cat needs no wave of its own: it is alive or dead, decided by one counter click. Two slits follow, in space and time, matching a time-slit experiment; a solenoid between them shifts the fringes with no force, as Aharonov–Bohm measurements show.
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.
We present complex-time (CT) theory, a framework in which the fundamental structures of quantum mechanics are derived from three physical postulates concerning the internal structure of time. The postulates are: (P1) physical time possesses two orthogonal components — past-fixed (pf), representing actualized, irreversible records, and future-pending (fp), representing physically real but undetermined possibilities; (P2) pf and fp are orthogonal (pf fp); and (P3) the total temporal magnitude is conserved (pf + fp = 1). From these three postulates alone, we show that: (i) the state space is the unit circle and the dynamical group is , so that the imaginary unit arises as the unique generator of temporal evolution — not as a mathematical convenience but as a consequence of temporal geometry; (ii) the Schrödinger equation follows from the identification of energy with the rate of phase rotation in the pf–fp plane, with the Planck constant playing the role of a natural constant intrinsic to the pf/fp structure; (iii) the de Broglie–Einstein relation holds universally — for massive and massless particles alike — because the wave structure belongs to time itself, not to any particular particle; (iv) the uncertainty principle is a geometric consequence of the impossibility of fully eliminating fp while preserving ; (v) the complex structure of Hilbert space, the inner product, and the Born rule all follow from the geometry of fp pf projection; and (vi) energy quantization emerges from a “real-axis sampling” rule without imposing discreteness on the underlying dynamics. We further show that the CT framework provides unified descriptions of double-slit interference, quantum tunneling, unstable-state decay widths, and the structural origin of the arrow of time. Preliminary experimental predictions for quantum-circuit observables are stated, and applications to cosmological dark-energy phenomenology, galaxy rotation curves, and Lorentzian path-integral contour selection are outlined with references to dedicated companion papers. The central thesis is that quantum mechanics is not a theory of particles with mysterious wave-like properties, but a consequence of the internal structure of time — time whose wave-like phase (fp) is projected, irreversibly and discretely, onto the real axis (pf) in every act of measurement. Keywords: complex time; temporal structure; imaginary unit; quantum mechanics derivation; past-fixed / future-pending decomposition; Born rule; energy quantization; measurement; irreversibility; arrow of time