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WHY THE HAMILTON OPERATOR ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH

I. Schmelzer

Published Nov 20, 2012• 8 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Abstract. In the many worlds community seems to exist a belief that the physics of a quantum theory is completely defined by it’s Hamilton operator given in an abstract Hilbert space, especially that the position basis may be derived from it as preferred using decoherence techniques. We show, by an explicit example of non-uniqueness, taken from the theory of the KdV equation, that the Hamilton operator alone is not sufficient to fix the physics. We need the canonical operators ˆp, ˆq as well. As a consequence, it is not possible to derive a “preferred basis ” from the Hamilton operator alone, without postulating some additional structure like a “decomposition into systems”. We argue that this makes such a derivation useless for fundamental physics. 1.

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Abstract. In the many worlds community seems to exist a belief that the physics of a quantum theory is completely defined by it’s Hamilton operator given in an abstract Hilbert space, especially that the position basis may be derived from it as preferred using decoherence techniques. We show, by an explicit example of non-uniqueness, taken from the theory of the KdV equation, that the Hamilton operator alone is not sufficient to fix the physics. We need the canonical operators ˆp, ˆq as well. As a consequence, it is not possible to derive a “preferred basis ” from the Hamilton operator alone, without postulating some additional structure like a “decomposition into systems”. We argue that this makes such a derivation useless for fundamental physics. 1.
The preferred basis problem is mentioned in the literature in connection with the measurement problem and with the Many World Interpretation. It is argued that this problem actually corresponds to two inequivalent problems: (i) the preferred-decomposition problem, i.e., what singles out a preferred decomposition of a suitable state vector of a system as the sum of a finite or countable set of vectors?, and (ii) the preferred-representation problem, i.e., what singles out a preferred representation for the Hilbert space of a system? In this paper the preferred-decomposition problem is addressed and two processes, namely decoherence and permanent spatial decomposition (PSD), are examined and compared as possible solutions to this problem. It is shown that, perhaps contrary to common belief, in realistic situations decoherence is not sufficient to solve the preferred-decomposition problem. PSD is the (hypothesized) tendency of the wave function of the universe to decompose into permanently non-overlapping wave packets. Three phases can be roughly identified as composing PSD: Microscopic decomposition, amplification, and interaction with the environment. Decoherence theory considers only the interaction with the environment and ignores the first two phases. For this reason PSD is fundamentally different from decoherence and, unlike decoherence, provides a simple and non-elusive solution to the preferred-decomposition problem.
Extending the usual framework of the quantum theory, we have succeeded in gettig a new mathematical framework. The most essential character of the usual theory is preserved in the new theory, that is, the set of physical quantities can be represented by an operator algebra in a separable Hilbert space. In the new theory, on the other hand, we can rigorously treat the interaction Hamiltonians, which cannot be treated in the usual framework. In our new framework there are always solutions of the Schrödinger equation for any Hamiltonian. However, the most serious defect of our theory is in the fact that we have no guarantee of the uniqueness of solutions.
Abstract It is often claimed that, from the abstract quantum state vector and Hamiltonian, everything emerges uniquely (for example the 3D-space, a preferred factorization of the Hilbert space, and a preferred basis). This thesis, called Hilbert-Space Fundamentalism (HSF), is assumed for example in Carroll and Singh’s “Mad-dog Everettianism”, some proposals based on decoherence, proposals that aim to describe everything by the quantum structure alone, and proposals that spacetime emerges from a purely quantum theory of gravity. I show that whenever the 3D-space, a preferred factorization, or any other structure emerges like this, there are infinitely many solutions. This refutes Hilbert-Space Fundamentalism. Implications for various research programs aiming to show that certain structures emerge uniquely, and for various interpretations of Quantum Mechanics, are discussed.
Hilbert-Space Fundamentalism (HSF) states that the only fundamental structures are the quantum state vector and the Hamiltonian, and from them everything else emerge uniquely, including the 3D-space, a preferred basis, and a preferred factorization of the Hilbert space. In this article it is shown that whenever such a structure emerges from the Hamiltonian and the state vector alone, if it is physically relevant, it is not unique. Moreover, HSF leads to strange effects like "passive" travel in time and in alternative realities, realized simply by passive transformations of the Hilbert space. The results from this article affect all theories that adhere to HSF, whether they assume branching or state vector reduction (in particular the version of Everett's Interpretation coined by Carroll and Singh "Mad-dog Everettianism"), various proposals based on decoherence, proposals that aim to describe everything by the quantum structure alone, and proposals that spacetime emerges from a purely quantum theory of gravity.