The classical system is usually quantized using the canonical formalism, i.e., in the language of coordinates and momenta. In addition to this “purely algebraic” ambiguity, there is also an ambiguity in the choice of realization of the operators p^ and q^: the commutation relations do not determine it uniquely, but up to a unitary equivalence (the well known uniqueness theorem of von Neumann pertains only to the Weyl form of the commutation relations). The realization must be chosen on the basis of additional considerations regarding the nature of the canonical variables p and q. In this book the term “theory” is used in various ways: in a broad sense (quantum field theory, relativistic theory) and in a narrow sense, to refer to a particular system or class of systems with certain dynamics. In quantum theory there are also systems whose operators corresponding to canonical variables satisfy not commutation relations, but anticommutation relations.
A quantum mechanical model with one bosonic degree of freedom is discussed in detail. Conventionally, when a quantum mechanical model is constructed, one must know the corresponding classical model. And by applying the correspondence between the classical Poisson brackets and the canonical commutator, the canonical quantization condition can be obtained. In the quantum model, study of the corresponding classical model is needed first. In this model, the Lagrangian is an operator gauge invariant. After localization, in order to keep gauge invariance, the operator gauge potential must be introduced. The Eular-Lagrange equation of motion of the dynamical argument gives the usual operator equation of motion. And the operator gauge potential just gjves a constraint. This constraint is just the usual canonical quantization condition.
Conventionally, when we construct a quantum model, we must first know the corresponding classical model. Applying the correspondence between the classical Poisson brackets and the canonical commutator, we can find the canonical quantization condition. Through the example given in this paper, we will find that it is not necessary to do this. In the example, a Lagrangian operator is operator gauge invariant. After localization, in order to keep the operator gauge invariance of the operator action, we must introduce a gauge potential. The Euler - Lagrange equation of motion of q gives the usual operator equation of motion, and the gauge potential gives a constraint. This constraint is just the usual canonical quantization condition.
In Newtonian spacetime, the canonical description of a classical
N-particle system requires
3N degrees of freedom. Not all of these are physical, however, since the conservation of the net momentum implies that only
3(N−1) accelerations are independent. Hence, three constraints can be used to eliminate the unphysical centre-of-mass variables, at the level of the Lagrangian, leaving only the subset of observable displacements and momenta, which are relational. Imposing the constraints does not change the dynamics of these variables, at the classical level, and is analogous to a gauge-fixing procedure, which removes redundancy in the description of the system. In classical physics, therefore, the number of physical degrees of freedom equals the number of independent relational degrees of freedom. Here, we show that this is not the case in quantum mechanics. While an operator-analogue of the classical net momentum exists, it cannot be used to impose constraints that restrict the degrees of freedom in the theory, without a loss of physical information. This means that all
3N canonical degrees of freedom are physical, even though only
3(N−1) of them are relational. We explore the physical consequences of the non-relational variables and show that they give rise to generalised uncertainty relations (GURs), for the relational quantities that define the quantum reference frame (QRF). Hence, it is shown that the non-relational degrees of freedom refer to the frame itself and that the non-Heisenberg terms in the GURs define its Galilean-invariant spreads, in both real space and momentum space. The implications of this result for recent work on relational models, including the ``perspective neutral'' framework for QRFs, are discussed. Its implications for the wider relational program, and, in particular, the relevance of the latter to quantum gravity research, are also critically assessed
In this initial paper in a series, we first discuss why classical motions of small particles should be treated statistically. Then we show that any attempted statistical description of any nonrelativistic classical system inevitably yields the multi-coordinate Schrödinger equation, with its usual boundary conditions, as an essential statistical equation for the system. We derive the general "canonical quantization" rule, that the Hamiltonian operator must be the classical Hamiltonian in the
N-dimensional metric configuration space defined by the classical kinetic energy of the system, with the classical conjugate momentum
N-vector replaced by
−iℏ times the vector gradient operator in that space. We obtain these results by using conservation of probability, general tensor calculus, the Madelung transform, the Ehrenfest theorem and/or the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, and comparison with results for the charged harmonic oscillator in stochastic electrodynamics. We also provide two illustrative examples and a discussion of how coordinate trajectories could be compatible with wave properties such as interference, diffraction, and tunneling.
A simple prescription for quantizing fields is developed and applied to the sytsem of interacting spins in an electromagnetic field. The classical equations of motion are written in the standard form $\ensuremath{-}i(\frac{d}{\mathrm{dt}})|V〉+\mathfrak{M}|V〉=0$, where the state vector
∣V〉 has the state variables, such as the generalized coordinates and momenta, as its components, and the time development operator
M contains derivative, integral, and matrix operators in general. By diagonalizing
M and replacing the resulting classical variables with operators obeying boson commutation relations, the system is quantized, and the Hamiltonian and Heisenberg equations of motion are automatically cast into the harmonic-oscillator form. Thus the quantization is reduced to the simple problem of diagonalizing a matrix. This avoids the laborious process of finding a Lagrangian density (by trial and error in general), determining the canonical variables, forming the Hamiltonian density, and inventing transformations to creation and annihilation operators. Problems with zero-frequency modes, which can be annoying in the standard treatment, are automatically eliminated by the prescription. The bookkeeping of forward and backward waves, different branches of dispersion curves, etc., is simplified. In addition to affording a straightforward and simple method of quantizing fields, the method also gives the necessary and sufficient conditions for a Hamiltonian to be transformable into harmonic-oscillator form, gives a direct relation between the classical equations of motion and the Heisenberg quantum-mechanical equations, and gives a simple method of determining the constants of the motion.