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Emergent Newtonian dynamics and the geometric origin of mass

Anatoli Polkovnikovb

Published Jan 1, 2014• 11 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We consider a set of macroscopic (classical) degrees of freedom coupled to an arbitrary many-particle Hamiltonian system, quantum or classical. These degrees of freedom can represent positions of objects in space, their angles, shape distortions, magnetization, currents and so on. Expanding their dy-namics near the adiabatic limit we find the emergent Newton’s second law (force is equal to the mass times acceleration) with an extra dissipative term. In systems with broken time reversal symmetry there is an additional Cori-olis type force proportional to the Berry curvature. We give the microscopic definition of the mass tensor relating it to the non-equal time correlation functions in equilibrium or alternatively expressing it through dressing by virtual excitations in the system. In the classical (high-temperature) limit the mass tensor is given by the product of the inverse temperature and the Fubini-Study metric tensor determining the natural distance between the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian. For free particles this result reduces to the conventional definition of mass. This finding shows that any mass, at least in the classical limit, emerges from the distortions of the Hilbert space high-lighting deep connections between any motion (not necessarily in space) and geometry. We illustrate our findings with four simple examples.

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cond-mat.mes-hallCross-listedarXiv:2608.26269•Aug 28, 2026
We consider a set of macroscopic (classical) degrees of freedom coupled to an arbitrary many-particle Hamiltonian system, quantum or classical. These degrees of freedom can represent positions of objects in space, their angles, shape distortions, magnetization, currents and so on. Expanding their dy-namics near the adiabatic limit we find the emergent Newton’s second law (force is equal to the mass times acceleration) with an extra dissipative term. In systems with broken time reversal symmetry there is an additional Cori-olis type force proportional to the Berry curvature. We give the microscopic definition of the mass tensor relating it to the non-equal time correlation functions in equilibrium or alternatively expressing it through dressing by virtual excitations in the system. In the classical (high-temperature) limit the mass tensor is given by the product of the inverse temperature and the Fubini-Study metric tensor determining the natural distance between the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian. For free particles this result reduces to the conventional definition of mass. This finding shows that any mass, at least in the classical limit, emerges from the distortions of the Hilbert space high-lighting deep connections between any motion (not necessarily in space) and geometry. We illustrate our findings with four simple examples.
Abstract Hilbert space may be regarded as a convenient standard approximation by interpolation and extrapolation to a unitary space, in general decomposable into a sum of semisimple spaces. In the limit we expect a particle theory expanded in powers of h according to the number of interacting particles. In the classical limit h tending to zero, phase space, with equations of motion reducible to Hamiltonian form, replaces Hilbert space. The modification of states by observing them is taken care of by considering probability distributions of petty ensembles. If the equations for any single observer can be made autonomous by replacing empirical time by universal time with an arrow we have a causal system. We then obtain the relation between probability and negentropy required for the second law of thermodynamics. An approximate Newtonian theory provides proximate particles with internal and external variables and admits the Poincaré group. For the internal variables we have approximately the Breit interaction. For the external variables we have equivalence for observers of the homogeneous Lorentz group of relativity. We introduce grand ensembles of ultimate particles, and nebulae as proximate particles in the large. We assume the Einstein principle of equivalence for the ten parameter set of observers suggested by relativity and suppose the second law of thermodynamics holds for each observer. The Einstein law of gravitation follows in classical theory to the order of the reciprocal of the large constant, in general with positive natural curvature as well as that corresponding to mass. Replacing particle interactions by fields we include them in classical theory.
Quantum systems are viewed as emergent systems from the fundamental degrees of freedom. The laws and rules of quantum mechanics are understood as an effective description, valid for the emergent systems and specially useful to handle probabilistic predictions of observables. After introducing the geometric theory of Hamilton-Randers spaces and reformulating it using Hilbert space theory, a Hilbert space structure is constructed from the Hilbert space formulation of the underlying Hamilton-Randers model and associated with the space of wave functions of quantum mechanical systems. We can prove the emergence of the Born rule from ergodic considerations. A geometric mechanism for a natural spontaneous collapse of the quantum states based on the concentration of measure phenomena as it appears in metric geometry is discussed.We show the existence of stable vacua states for the quantized matter Hamiltonian. Another consequence of the concentration of measure is the emergence of a weak equivalence principle for one of the dynamics of the fundamental degrees of freedom. We suggest that the reduction of the quantum state is driven by a gravitational type interaction. Such interaction appears only in the dynamical domain when localization of quantum observables happens, it must be a classical interaction. We discuss the double slit experiment in the context of the framework proposed, the interference phenomena associated with a quantum system in an external gravitational potential, a mechanism explaining non-quantum locality and also provide an argument in favour of an emergent interpretation of every macroscopic time parameter. Entanglement is partially described in the context of Hamilton-Randers theory and how naturally Bell's inequalities should be violated.
We study a slow classical system [particle] coupled to a fast quantum system with discrete energy spectrum. We adiabatically exclude the quantum system and construct an autonomous dynamics for the classical particle in successive orders of the small ratio εεε of the characteristic times. It is known that in the order ε0ε^0ε0 the particle gets an additional [Born-Oppenheimer] potential, while in the order $\eps^1$ it feels an effective magnetic field related to the Berry phase. In the order ε2ε^2ε2 the motion of the classical particle can be reduced to a free [geodesic] motion on a curved Riemannian manifold, with the metric generated by the excluded quantum system. This motion has a number of unusual features, e.g., it combines subspaces of different (Riemannian and pseudo-Riemannian) signature for the metric tensor. In the order ε3ε^3ε3 the motion of the classical particle is still described by a Lagrangian, but the latter linearly depends on the particle's acceleration. This implies the existence of a spin tensor [non-orbital angular momentum] for the particle. This spin tensor is related to the momentum via an analogue of the zitterbewegung effect. The Hamiltonian structure of the system is non-trivial and is defined via non-linear Poisson brackets. The linear dependence of the effective classical Lagrangian on higher-order derivatives is seen as well in the higher orders εnε^nεn.
We develop a geometric formulation of classical and quantum dynamics in which projective Hilbert space is taken as the primary state space and classical configuration and phase spaces arise as submanifolds of localized quantum states. The Fubini-Study metric induces the Euclidean metric on these submanifolds, while the tangential component of Schrödinger evolution reproduces Hamiltonian and Newtonian dynamics. We then extend the construction to stochastic motion. Brownian dynamics on the localized classical manifold is lifted to a common stochastic unitary evolution in projective Hilbert space; under homogeneity, isotropy, and independence assumptions, the corresponding Hermitian increments have Gaussian Unitary Ensemble statistics. This yields a random-matrix Schrödinger dynamics whose transition probabilities depend only on Fubini-Study distance. Through the embedding of localized states, the classical Gaussian transition law becomes the Born rule in projective state space. Measurement outcomes are identified with first arrival at detector-defined finite-resolution equivalence classes, while each realized state-space evolution remains linear and unitary. The framework is applied to classical emergence, macroscopic stabilization, double-slit experiments, composite systems, and entangled states. A spatially local Caldeira-Leggett-type system-environment model is also shown, under explicit thermal, symmetry, Ohmic, and coarse-graining assumptions, to generate the Brownian family required by the stochastic lift. The remaining open problem is to establish the range and universality of this mechanism for realistic many-body measuring environments.
Quantum systems are viewed as emergent systems from the fundamental degrees of freedom. The laws and rules of quantum mechanics are understood as an effective description, valid for the emergent systems and specially useful to handle probabilistic predictions of observables. After introducing the geometric theory of Hamilton-Randers spaces and reformulating it using Hilbert space theory, a Hilbert space structure is constructed from the Hilbert space formulation of the underlying Hamilton-Randers model and associated with the space of wave functions of quantum mechanical systems. We can prove the emergence of the Born rule from ergodic considerations. A geometric mechanism for a natural spontaneous collapse of the quantum states based on the concentration of measure phenomena as it appears in metric geometry is discussed.We show the existence of stable vacua states for the quantized matter Hamiltonian. Another consequence of the concentration of measure is the emergence of a weak equivalence principle for one of the dynamics of the fundamental degrees of freedom. We suggest that the reduction of the quantum state is driven by a gravitational type interaction. Such interaction appears only in the dynamical domain when localization of quantum observables happens, it must be a classical interaction. We discuss the double slit experiment in the context of the framework proposed, the interference phenomena associated with a quantum system in an external gravitational potential, a mechanism explaining non-quantum locality and also provide an argument in favour of an emergent interpretation of every macroscopic time parameter. Entanglement is partially described in the context of Hamilton-Randers theory and how naturally Bell's inequalities should be violated.
The quantum geometric tensor - the Berry curvature together with the quantum metric - now underlies a long list of observables, from the anomalous Hall effect to the superfluid weight of a flat band. We ask which of these observables actually require quantum mechanics. To answer this question, we study a purely classical system: a point particle carrying a classical magnetic moment ℓ\boldsymbol{\ell}ℓ that precesses in a momentum-dependent magnetic field B(p)\mathbf{B}(\mathbf{p})B(p). Within Hamiltonian classical mechanics, the component of ℓ\boldsymbol{\ell}ℓ along the field reproduces the Berry-curvature phenomena, while its precessing transverse component reproduces the quantum-metric phenomena. The particle acquires a position spread whose second moment is the metric, an orbital magnetic moment, and - most strikingly - an inertial mass generated by a position-dependent force, and with it a nonzero Drude weight in a system that is nominally dispersionless.