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AIP conference proceedings

Entropic dynamics: The Schrödinger equation and its Bohmian limit

Daniel Bartolomeo, Ariel Caticha

Published Jan 1, 2016• 16 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In the Entropic Dynamics (ED) derivation of the Schrödinger equation the physical input is introduced through constraints that are implemented using Lagrange multipliers. There is one constraint involving a “drift” potential that correlates the motions of different particles and is ultimately responsible for entanglement. The purpose of this work is to deepen our under-standing of the corresponding multiplier α′. We find that α′ must take integer values. Its main effect is to control the strength of the drift relative to the fluctuations. We show that ED exhibits a symmetry: models with different values of α′ can lead to the same Schrödinger equation; different “microscopic” or sub-quantum models lead to the same “macroscopic” or quantum behavior. In the limit of large α′ the drift prevails over the fluctuations and the particles tend to move along the smooth probability flow lines. Thus ED includes the causal or Bohmian form of quantum mechanics as a special limiting case.

DOI
10.1063/1.4959051

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•May 1, 2017•5 citations
In the Entropic Dynamics (ED) derivation of the Schrödinger equation the physical input is introduced through constraints that are implemented using Lagrange multipliers. There is one constraint involving a “drift” potential that correlates the motions of different particles and is ultimately responsible for entanglement. The purpose of this work is to deepen our under-standing of the corresponding multiplier α′. We find that α′ must take integer values. Its main effect is to control the strength of the drift relative to the fluctuations. We show that ED exhibits a symmetry: models with different values of α′ can lead to the same Schrödinger equation; different “microscopic” or sub-quantum models lead to the same “macroscopic” or quantum behavior. In the limit of large α′ the drift prevails over the fluctuations and the particles tend to move along the smooth probability flow lines. Thus ED includes the causal or Bohmian form of quantum mechanics as a special limiting case.
In the Entropic Dynamics (ED) derivation of the Schroedinger equation the physical input is introduced through constraints that are implemented using Lagrange multipliers. There is one constraint involving a "drift" potential that correlates the motions of different particles and is ultimately responsible for entanglement. The purpose of this work is to deepen our understanding of the corresponding multiplier. Its main effect is to control the strength of the drift relative to the fluctuations. We show that ED exhibits a symmetry: models with different values of the multiplier can lead to the same Schroedinger equation; different "microscopic" or sub-quantum models lead to the same "macroscopic" or quantum behavior. As the multiplier tends to infinity the drift prevails over the fluctuations and the particles tend to move along the smooth probability flow lines. Thus ED includes the causal or Bohmian form of quantum mechanics as a special limiting case.
Entropic Dynamics (ED) is a framework that allows the formulation of dynamical theories as an application of entropic methods of inference. In the generic application of ED to derive the Schrödinger equation for N particles the dynamics is a non-dissipative diffusion in which the system follows a "Brownian" trajectory with fluctuations superposed on a smooth drift. We show that there is a family of ED models that differ at the "microscopic" or sub-quantum level in that one can enhance or suppress the fluctuations relative to the drift. Nevertheless, members of this family belong to the same universality class in that they all lead to the same emergent Schrödinger behavior at the "macroscopic" or quantum level. The model in which fluctuations are totally suppressed is of particular interest: the system evolves along the smooth lines of probability flow. Thus ED includes the Bohmian or causal form of quantum mechanics as a special limiting case. We briefly explore a different universality class - a nondissipative dynamics with microscopic fluctuations but no quantum potential. The Bohmian limit of these hybrid models is equivalent to classical mechanics. Finally we show that the Heisenberg uncertainty relation is unaffected either by enhancing or suppressing microscopic fluctuations or by switching off the quantum potential.
Entropic Dynamics is a framework for deriving the laws of physics from entropic inference. In an (ED) of particles, the central assumption is that particles have definite yet unknown positions. By appealing to certain symmetries, one can derive a quantum mechanics of scalar particles and particles with spin, in which the trajectories of the particles are given by a stochastic equation. This is much like Nelson’s stochastic mechanics which also assumes a fluctuating particle as the basis of the microstates. The uniqueness of ED as an entropic inference of particles allows one to continuously transition between fluctuating particles and the smooth trajectories assumed in Bohmian mechanics. In this work we explore the consequences of the ED framework by studying the trajectories of particles in the continuum between stochastic and Bohmian limits in the context of a few physical examples, which include the double slit and Stern-Gerlach experiments.
Entropic Dynamics (ED) is a framework in which Quantum Mechanics is derived as an application of entropic methods of inference. In ED the dynamics of the probability distribution is driven by entropy subject to constraints that are codified into a quantity later identified as the phase of the wave function. The central challenge is to specify how those constraints are themselves updated. In this paper we review and extend the ED framework in several directions. A new version of ED is introduced in which particles follow smooth differentiable Brownian trajectories (as opposed to non-differentiable Brownian paths). To construct ED we make use of the fact that the space of probabilities and phases has a natural symplectic structure (i.e., it is a phase space with Hamiltonian flows and Poisson brackets). Then, using an argument based on information geometry, a metric structure is introduced. It is shown that the ED that preserves the symplectic and metric structures—which is a Hamilton-Killing flow in phase space—is the linear Schrödinger equation. These developments allow us to discuss why wave functions are complex and the connections between the superposition principle, the single-valuedness of wave functions, and the quantization of electric charges. Finally, it is observed that Hilbert spaces are not necessary ingredients in this construction. They are a clever but merely optional trick that turns out to be convenient for practical calculations.
The framework of entropic dynamics (ED) allows one to derive quantum mechanics as an application of entropic inference. In this work we derive the classical limit of quantum mechanics in the context of ED. Our goal is to find conditions so that the center of mass (CM) of a system of N particles behaves as a classical particle. What is of interest is that ħ remains finite at all steps in the calculation and that the classical motion is obtained as the result of a central limit theorem. More explicitly we show that if the system is sufficiently large, and if the CM is initially uncorrelated with other degrees of freedom, then the CM follows a smooth trajectory and obeys the classical Hamilton-Jacobi with a vanishing quantum potential.
The framework of entropic dynamics (ED) allows one to derive quantum mechanics as an application of entropic inference. In this work we derive the classical limit of quantum mechanics in the context of ED. Our goal is to find conditions so that the center of mass (CM) of a system of N particles behaves as a classical particle. What is of interest is that ~ remains finite at all steps in the calculation and that the classical motion is obtained as the result of a central limit theorem. More explicitly we show that if the system is sufficiently large, and if the CM is initially uncorrelated with other degrees of freedom, then the CM follows a smooth trajectory and obeys the classical Hamilton-Jacobi with a vanishing quantum potential.