The technical problem in Feynman’s proposal to formulate quantum mechanics in terms of a sum over histories of a particle is that this sum over histories must be performed in imaginary time rather than in the real time that everyone experiences [1]. In this paper, for the derivation of Lorentz transformation from the postulates of Special theory of Relativity, the concept of De Broglie quantum waves is introduced which leads to the conclusions that the derivation of Lorentz transformation does not need the postulate of constancy of light speed in free space in case the postulate of phase coincidence of De Broglie quantum waves is introduced. Consequently, a new proposal is formulated that combines Quantum mechanics and the special theory of relativity and overcomes the technical problem in Feynman’s proposal.
The technical problem in Feynman’s proposal to formulate quantum mechanics in terms of a sum over histories of a particle is that this sum over histories must be performed in imaginary time rather than in the real time that everyone experiences [1]. In this paper, for the derivation of Lorentz transformation from the postulates of Special theory of Relativity, the concept of De Broglie quantum waves is introduced which leads to the conclusions that the derivation of Lorentz transformation does not need the postulate of constancy of light speed in free space in case the postulate of phase coincidence of De Broglie quantum waves is introduced. Consequently, a new proposal is formulated that combines Quantum mechanics and the special theory of relativity and overcomes the technical problem in Feynman’s proposal.
In Hawking’s view physics has been broken up into many partial theories, while the ultimate goal of physicists is to unify them. The two basic theories of 20th-century physics, relativity theory and quantum theory, are based on completely different logical prerequisites and exactly separate: matter is described as particles in relativity theory and as waves in quantum mechanics. Here, based on the identical logical prerequisites, we unify Einstein’s special relativity (SR) and de Broglie’s matter-wave theory (MWT) into the theory of dualistic relativity (DR), taking a significant step toward the unification of relativity and quantum mechanics. From the definition of time, we derive the Lorentz transformation in differential form and establish the theory of DR, which generalizes the wave-particle duality of matter motion, and uniformly derives Einstein’s formula E=mc2, Planck’s equation E=hf, and de Broglie’s relation λ=h/p. From the logical prerequisite completely different from Einstein’s hypothesis of the invariance of light speed and along the logical path completely different from Einstein’s SR, we have deduced the whole theoretical system of Einstein’s SR and de Broglie’s MWT. In the theory of DR, the two great formulae originally separated, Einstein’s formula E=mc2 and Planck’s equation E=hf, become a pair of twin formulae unified in an identical theoretical system.
We argue that special relativity, instead of quantum theory, should be radically reformulated to resolve inconsistencies between those two theories. A new relativistic transformation recently-proposed renders physical laws form-invariant via transformation of physical quantities, instead of space-time coordinates. This new perspective on relativistic transformation provides an insight into the very meaning of the principle of relativity. The principle of relativity means that the same physical laws hold in all inertial frames, rather than their mathematical formulas are Lorentz-covariant under the Lorentz transformation of space-time coordinates. The space-time concept underlying this new relativistic transformation is Newtonian absolute space and absolute time. With this new perspective, quantum theory becomes compatible with the principle of relativity. A new theory of relativistic quantum mechanics is formulated. The new relativistic quantum mechanics thus obtained maintains the essentials of non-relativistic quantum mechanics, for instance, the statistical single-particle interpretation. Studies on standard problems in quantum mechanics, square step and barrier potential, show that the new relativistic quantum mechanics is free from such anomalies as the negative probability density, Zitterbewegung and the Klein paradox bedeviling the current relativistic quantum mechanics. Furthermore, a remarkable result is found as applying the new relativistic quantum mechanics to study the problems of square potential well --- a particle can not be confined within an infinite square well of width less than half of the Compton wavelength of the particle. As implications of this finding in nuclear physics, there is a lower bound on the size of atomic nucleus. Neither an electron, nor a positron, can be confined inside the nucleus.
One of the concepts of Relativity theory that challenges conventional intuition the most is time dilation and length contraction. Usual approaches for describing relativistic effects in quantum systems merely postulate the consequences of these effects as physical constraints. Here, we propose to rebuild Special Relativity from quantum mechanical considerations. This is done by dropping one of its fundamental postulates: the universality of the speed of light. Lorentz transformations are obtained by a quantum mechanism. We use the fact that quantum states depend on the Galilean reference frame where they are defined. In other words, quantum states outside an observer's Galilean reference frame are distorted. Then, we show in a theorem the existence of time-dependent observables that are sensible to this distortion in such a way that their expectation value is a Lorentz-covariant function of time. We then postulate this mechanism as the source of the phenomena of Special Relativity. As a corollary of the main theorem, we show the existence of a Lorentz covariant momentum and mass operators which yield the relativistic momentum and mass. In this theory, the fundamental limit of the speed of light imposes a transparency condition for faster-than-light particles: they are allowed but they are not observable. The transparency effect could explain dark matter in a more general theory following this quantum formalism.
The compatibility of special relativity and Quantum Mechanics has been questioned by several authors. The origin of this tension can be traced back mainly to the introduction of the measurement processes and the corresponding wave function reduction, which play a crucial role in Quantum Mechanics. We approach this problem with the help of a recent proposal for a model of Quantum Mechanics, where the measurement is explicitly described as a specific stochastic process. This implements ordinary Quantum Mechanics, where measurement and reduction are treated as phenomenological events of unknown origin without any physical justification. To state clearly the question in general, we first discuss and establish the effect of a Lorentz transformation on a generic wave function in space-time. Alongside the analysis we formulate the relativistic version of the model. We then consider few thought experiments in order to analyze to what extent Quantum Mechanics follows relativistic invariance and find the specific critical points where non invariance possibly occurs. The analysis can shade light to the interpretation of the existing experimental observations.
It has been suggested that the space-time structure as described by the theory of special relativity is a macroscopic manifestation of a more fundamental quantum structure (pre-geometry). Efforts to quantify this idea have come mainly from the area of abstract quantum logic theory. Here we present a preliminary attempt to develop a quantum formulation of special relativity based on a model that retains some geometric attributes. Our model is Feynman's "checker-board" trajectory for a 1-D relativistic free particle. We use this model to guide us in identifying (1) the quantum version of the postulates of special relativity and (2) the appropriate quantum "coordinates". This model possesses a useful feature that it admits an interpretation both in terms of paths in space-time and in terms of quantum states. Based on the quantum version of the postulates, we derive a transformation rule for velocity. This rule reduces to the Einstein's velocity-addition formula in the macroscopic limit and reveals an interesting aspect of time. The 3-D case, time-dilation effect, and invariant interval are also discussed in term of this new formulation. This is a preliminary investigation; some results are derived, while others are interesting observations at this point.
An unconventional outlook on relationship between the quantum mechanics and special relativity is proposed. We show that the two fundamental postulates of quantum mechanics of Planck and de Broglie combined with the idea of comparison scale (explained in the paper), are enough to introduce relativistic description. We argue that Lorentz group is the symmetry group of quantum, preferred frame description. We indicate that the departure from the orthodox relativity postulate allows us, in easy way, to make special relativity and quantum mechanics indivisible whole.