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Annalen der Physik

On Schrödinger's Search for a Stochastic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

Z. Marić

Published Jan 1, 1988• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Following Schrödinger a stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics is given based on the introduction of an intermediate probability in diffusion processes. The Schrödinger equation is derived following Nelson's approach and following a variational approach. Some problems of the quantum theory of measurement are discussed.

DOI
10.1002/andp.19885000307

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Abstract Following Schrödinger a stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics is given based on the introduction of an intermediate probability in diffusion processes. The Schrödinger equation is derived following Nelson's approach and following a variational approach. Some problems of the quantum theory of measurement are discussed.
Introduction. There exists a very comprehensive theory concerning the time development of probabilistic systems. This is the Theory of Stochastic processes (1). Quantum mechanics as described by the Schrödinger equation rests very heavily on probabilistic interpretation, and yet, after forty years of remarkably rapid advances and successes, it is not clear how it is related to stochastic theory. The formal similarity of certain aspects of, and equations used in these two theories are well known. The diffusion equation corresponds to the Schrödinger equation, a correspondence only marred by a square root of minus unity appearing with the time derivative in the latter equation. The Kolmogoroff–Chapman relation for probabilities in Brownian motion has an analogue (2) in quantum mechanics, not for probabilities though, but for the complex probability amplitudes. The uncertainty relation also has a stochastic analogue (3). Some of these analogous characteristics are actually symptomatic of the gulf which separates these two theories. There are solutions to the diffusion equation which have a very clear physical probabilistic meaning. This is not the case with the corresponding and formally similar solutions to the Schrödinger equation and is partly due to the √ − 1 mentioned earlier. The probabilistic interpretation of the solutions to the diffusion equation is direct and immediate. On the other hand, the probabilistic interpretation of the solutions, ψ of the Schrödinger equation involve the introduction of the probability density, p = ψ*ψ. One great difference between these two theories lies in their each having distinct principles of linear superposition. In Stochastic Theory probabilities are superposed and in quantum mechanics amplitudes or wave functions are superposed.
The stochastic theory of non-relativistic quantum mechanics presented here relies heavily upon the theory of stochastic processes, with its definitions, theorems and specific vocabulary as well. Its main hypothesis states indeed that the classical trajectories of the particles are identical to the sample functions of a diffusion Markov process, whose conditional probability density is proposed as a substitute for the wave function. The Schroedinger equation and the so-called Nelson equations are used to determine the diffusion tensor and the drift vectors characteristic of such a process. It is then possible to write down the forward and backward Kolmogorov equations that are used to determine the conditional probability density, as well as the Fokker-Planck equation that is used to determine the normal probability density. This method is applied to several simple cases and the results obtained are compared with those of the orthodox theory. Among the most important differences let us mention that any system evolving freely from any original state returns spontaneously to its ground state, that the definitions of the particles velocities and momenta are impossible because the sample functions of a diffusion Markov process nowhere possess a derivative with respect to time and that the so-called collapse of the wave function is a mere mirage explained by the updating choice between new and older initial conditions in the resolution of partial differential equations. We finally attempt to extend the proposed theory to the domain of the relativistic quantum mechanics. It is promising but is clearly unfinished because it has not been possible up to now to solve the Nelson and Kolmogorov equations, except in the very simple case of a free particle.
The quantum-mechanical formulation of a class of stochastic optimal control problems is investigated and two versions of non-linear Schrödinger equation are derived. First, a wave-function is introduced which connects the probability density function of a diffusion process with the minimum cost functional of the stochastic optimal control problem associated with the diffusion process. It is then demonstrated that this wave-function satisfies a kind of Schrödinger-Langevin equation in quantum physics. Finally, the probabilistic interpretation of the wave-function is discussed.
Among the famous formulations of quantum mechanics, the stochastic picture developed since the middle of the last century remains one of the less known ones. It is possible to describe quantum mechanical systems with kinetic equations of motion in configuration space based on conservative diffusion processes. This leads to the representation of physical observables through stochastic processes instead of self-adjoint operators. The mathematical foundations of this approach were laid by Edward Nelson in 1966. It allows a different perspective on quantum phenomena without necessarily using the wave-function. This article recaps the development of stochastic mechanics with a focus on variational and extremal principles. Furthermore, based on recent developments of optimal control theory, the derivation of generalized canonical equations of motion for quantum systems within the stochastic picture are discussed. These so-called quantum Hamilton equations add another layer to the different formalisms from classical mechanics that find their counterpart in quantum mechanics.