A class of diffusion processes controlled by the geometry of the manifold on which they evolve is considered. The kinetic energy of such diffusions is shown to be a geometric object expressed in terms of the curvature and torsion tensors. This gives rise to an action functional leading to a variational principle, from which a nontrivial critical geometry with nonvanishing torsion emerges. The resulting criticality condition is related to the Schrödinger equation in a manner that reproduces the features of Nelson’s stochastic approach to quantum mechanics.
A class of diffusion processes controlled by the geometry of the manifold on which they evolve is considered. The kinetic energy of such diffusions is shown to be a geometric object expressed in terms of the curvature and torsion tensors. This gives rise to an action functional leading to a variational principle, from which a nontrivial critical geometry with nonvanishing torsion emerges. The resulting criticality condition is related to the Schrödinger equation in a manner that reproduces the features of Nelson’s stochastic approach to quantum mechanics.
We develop a geometric formulation of stochastic dynamics in which noise, diffusion, path probabilities, fluctuation theorems, and entropy production arise from the intrinsic geometry of an evolving manifold rather than from externally imposed randomness. Within the theory of moving manifolds, we establish a curvature-noise correspondence: fluctuations are governed by the inverse curvature tensor, while entropy production is controlled by curvature deformation. The invariant continuity law on a moving hypersurface yields a geometric Fokker-Planck equation, and curvature-velocity coupling generates a quadratic Onsager-Machlup functional determining path weights. The resulting entropy functional satisfies a curvature-driven monotonicity law, providing a geometric derivation of the Second Law. In two dimensions, the curvature invariant reduces to Gaussian curvature and encodes topology, so topological transitions produce discrete entropy jumps. When the ambient space carries a Minkowskian signature, the same curvature-kinetic quadratic form that generates dissipative thermal weights produces oscillatory phase weights, and the Laplace-Beltrami operator governing entropy evolution acquires a Schrödinger-type structure. This provides a geometric resolution of the apparent distinction between classical stochastic behaviour and quantum dynamics. These results show that stochastic behaviour, thermodynamic irreversibility, and quantum transition amplitudes are unified within the moving manifold framework. Geometry does not merely accommodate stochasticity; stochastic behaviour arises as a consequence of deterministic geometric evolution. The theory predicts curvature-controlled anisotropic diffusion, entropy jumps at topology-changing events, and a geometric thermal-quantum crossover in which classical stochastic weights and quantum amplitudes are generated by the same curvature-kinetic action.
In the general framework of stochastic control theory we introduce a suitable form of stochastic action associated to the controlled process. A variational principle gives all the main features of Nelson's stochastic mechanics. In particular, we derive the expression for the current velocity field as the gradient of the phase action. Moreover, the stochastic corrections to the Hamilton-Jacobi equation are in agreement with the quantum-mechanical form of the Madelung fluid (equivalent to the Schr\"odinger equation). Therefore, stochastic control theory can provide a very simple model simulating quantum-mechanical behavior.
In the frame of Nelson stochastic quantization for dynamical systems on a manifold, we consider diffusion processes with Brownian covariance given by a Riemannian metric on the manifold. The dynamics is specified through a stochastic variational principle for a generalization of the classical action, with a given kinetic metric. The resulting programming equation, of the Hamilton-Jacobi type, depends on both metrics, the Brownian one and the kinetic one. We introduce a simple notion of compatibility between the two metrics, such that the programming equation and the continuity equation lead to the Schr\"odinger equation on the manifold.
In this paper we establish three variational principles that provide new foundations for Nelson’s stochastic mechanics in the case of nonrelativistic particles without spin. The resulting variational picture is much richer and of a different nature with respect to the one previously considered in the literature. We first develop two stochastic variational principles whose Hamilton–Jacobi-like equations are precisely the two coupled partial differential equations that are obtained from the Schrödinger equation (Madelung equations). The two problems are zero-sum, noncooperative, stochastic differential games that are familiar in the control theory literature. They are solved here by means of a new, absolutely elementary method based on Lagrange functionals. For both games the saddle-point equilibrium solution is given by the Nelson’s process and the optimal controls for the two competing players are precisely Nelson’s current velocity v and osmotic velocity u, respectively. The first variational principle includes as special cases both the Guerra–Morato variational principle [Phys. Rev. D 27, 1774 (1983)] and Schrödinger original variational derivation of the time-independent equation. It also reduces to the classical least action principle when the intensity of the underlying noise tends to zero. It appears as a saddle-point action principle. In the second variational principle the action is simply the difference between the initial and final configurational entropy. It is therefore a saddle-point entropy production principle. From the variational principles it follows, in particular, that both v(x,t) and u(x,t) are gradients of appropriate principal functions. In the variational principles, the role of the background noise has the intuitive meaning of attempting to contrast the more classical mechanical features of the system by trying to maximize the action in the first principle and by trying to increase the entropy in the second. Combining the two variational principles, we get the quantum Hamilton principle, i.e., a variational characterization of the logarithm of the wave function ψ. The Lagrangian is the Lagrangian of classical mechanics with the complex-valued velocity v−iu replacing the classical velocity. The dynamics is given by a stochastic differential equation for real-valued diffusions with complex-valued drift and driving noise processes. From the variational principle we derive a Newton-type law. We finally define the momentum process and show that its mean and variance coincide with those of the quantum momentum operator.
This review paper comprehensively examines the influence of spatial torsion on quantum fluctuations from the perspectives of Metric-Affine Gravity (MAG) and the Stochastic Variational Method (SVM). We first outline the fundamental framework of MAG, a generalized theory that includes both torsion and non-metricity, and discuss the geometrical significance of torsion within this context. Subsequently, we summarize SVM, a powerful technique that facilitates quantization while effectively incorporating geometrical effects. By integrating these frameworks, we evaluate how the geometrical structures originating from torsion affect quantum fluctuations, demonstrating that they induce non-linearity in quantum mechanics. Notably, torsion, traditionally believed to influence only spin degrees of freedom, can also affect spinless degrees of freedom via quantum fluctuations. Furthermore, extending beyond the results of previous work [Koide and van de Venn, Phys. Rev. A112, 052217 (2025)], we investigate the competitive interplay between the Levi-Civita curvature and torsion within the non-linearity of the Schrödinger equation. Finally, we discuss the structural parallelism between SVM and information geometry, highlighting that the splitting of time derivatives in stochastic processes corresponds to the dual connections in statistical manifolds. These insights pave the way for future extensions to gravity theories involving non-metricity and are expected to deepen our understanding of unresolved cosmological problems.
The differential geometric structure of a Fréchet manifold of densities is developed, providing a geometrical framework for quantization related to Nelson’s stochastic mechanics. The Riemannian and symplectic structures of the density manifold are studied, and the Schrödinger equation is derived from a variational principle. By a theorem of Moser, the density manifold is an infinite dimensional homogeneous space, being the quotient of the group of diffeomorphisms of the underlying base manifold modulo the group of diffeomorphisms which preserve the Riemannian volume. From this structure and symplectic reduction, the quantization procedure is equivalent to Lie-Poisson equations on the dual of a semidirect product Lie algebra. A Poisson map is obtained between the dual of this Lie algebra and the underlying projective Hilbert space.