Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

CRC Press eBooks

Quantum Diffusion: Decoherence and Localization

Sushanta Dattagupta

Published Nov 12, 2013• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Quantum mechanics rests on the axiom of wave particle duality. A point particle in the classical sense is a wave packet with a de Broglie wavelength. The latter increases as the particle mass and the temperature decrease. Thus quantum mechanics predicts an extended wave packet for tiny subatomic particles, especially when the temperature is low.

DOI
10.1201/b16008-20

Related papers

Wave-Particle Duality and Electron Kinetic Energy in Quantum Physics and Nanoelectronics

Baldo Alberto Luigi Dalporto, Sabine Mary, Santiago Gallur Santorum

Wave-particle duality is widely regarded as one of the conceptual pillars of modern quantum theory, providing the framework through which the behavior of microscopic matter can be consistently interpreted. According to this principle, microscopic entities such as electrons, photons, atoms and even complex molecules exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties depending on the experimental configuration used to observe them. This duality is quantitatively formalized through the De Broglie relation, which associates a wavelength with any particle possessing momentum. The present work provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the physical and mathematical foundations of wave-particle duality, focusing particularly on the De Broglie wavelength and the kinetic energy of the electron in both non-relativistic and relativistic regimes. The connection between the De Broglie hypothesis and Schrödinger’s equation is discussed in detail, highlighting the role of the kinetic energy operator and the interpretation of matter waves in terms of quantum wave packets. Experimental evidence supporting the wave nature of matter, including electron diffraction experiments and interferometry techniques, is also reviewed. Beyond their conceptual importance, these principles underpin several modern technologies, including electron microscopy, nanoscale semiconductor devices and quantum metrology. The analysis demonstrates that the De Broglie relation provides a unifying framework connecting momentum, wavelength and kinetic energy, thereby forming a fundamental bridge between classical mechanics, quantum theory and modern technological applications.

American Journal of Physics and Applications•Oct 26, 2026•0 citations

Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle Duality

Mani Lal Bhaumik

A satisfactory explanation of the confounding wave-particle duality of matter is presented in terms of the reality of the wave nature of a particle. In this view, a quantum particle is an objectively real wave packet consisting of irregular disturbances of underlying quantum fields. It travels holistically as a unit and thereby acts as a particle. Only the totality of the entire wave packet at any instance embodies all the conserved quantities, for example the energy-momentum, rest mass, and charge of the particle, and as such must be acquired all at once during detection. On this basis, many of the bizarre behaviors observed in the quantum domain, such as wave function collapse, the limitation of prediction to only a probability rather than an actuality, the apparent simultaneous existence of a particle in more than one place, and the inherent uncertainty can be reasonably comprehended. The necessity of acquiring the wave function in its entirety for detection, as evinced by the appearance of collapse of the wave function, supports the paradigm of reality of the wave function described here. Quanta 2016; 5: 93–100.

arXiv:1611.00226•Quanta•Dec 6, 2016•8 citations

Spreading of wave packets, Uncertainty Relations and the de Broglie Frequency

Heron Caldas, P. R. Silva

The spreading of quantum mechanical wave packets is studied in two cases. Firstly we look at the time behavior of the packet width of a free particle confined in the observable Universe. Secondly, by imposing the conservation of the time average of the packet width of a particle driven by a harmonic oscillator potential, we find a zero-point energy which frequency is the de Broglie frequency.

arXiv:gr-qc/9809007•Sep 1, 1998•0 citations

The pilot-wave perspective on quantum scattering and tunneling

Travis Norsen

The de Broglie-Bohm “pilot-wave” theory replaces the paradoxical wave-particle duality of ordinary quantum theory with a more mundane and literal kind of duality: each individual photon or electron comprises a quantum wave (evolving in accordance with the usual quantum mechanical wave equation) and a particle that, under the influence of the wave, traces out a definite trajectory. The definite particle trajectory allows the theory to account for the results of experiments without the usual recourse to additional dynamical axioms about measurements. Instead, one need simply assume that particle detectors click when particles arrive at them. This alternative understanding of quantum phenomena is illustrated here for two elementary textbook examples of one-dimensional scattering and tunneling. We introduce a novel approach to reconcile standard textbook calculations (made using unphysical plane-wave states) with the need to treat such phenomena in terms of normalizable wave packets. This approach allows for a simple but illuminating analysis of the pilot-wave theory's particle trajectories and an explicit demonstration of the equivalence of the pilot-wave theory predictions with those of ordinary quantum theory.

arXiv:1210.7265•American Journal of Physics•Mar 18, 2013•31 citations

Quantum Mechanics: Internal Motion in Theory and Experiment

Antony J. Bourdillon

Dispersion dynamics applies wave-particle duality, together with Maxwell’s electromagnetism, and with quantization E = hν = ħω (symbol definitions in footnote) and p = h/λ = ħk, to special relativity E2 = p2c2 + m2c4. Calculations on a wave-packet, that is symmetric about the normal distribution, are partly conservative and partly responsive. The complex electron wave function is chiefly modelled on the real wave function of an electromagnetic photon; while the former concept of a “point particle” is downgraded to mathematical abstraction. The computations yield conclusions for phase and group velocities, vp⋅vg = c2 with vp ≥ c because vg ≤ c, as in relativity. The condition on the phase velocity is most noticeable when p≪mc. Further consequences in dispersion dynamics are: derivations for ν and λ that are consistently established by one hundred years of experience in electron microscopy and particle accelerators. Values for vp = νλ = ω/k are therefore systematically verified by the products of known multiplicands or divisions by known divisors, even if vp is not independently measured. These consequences are significant in reduction of the wave-packet by resonant response during interactions between photons and electrons, for example, or between particles and particles. Thus the logic of mathematical quantum mechanics is distinguished from experiential physics that is continuous in time, and consistent with uncertainty principles. [Footnote: symbol E = energy; h = Planck’s constant; ν = frequency; ω = angular momentum; p = momentum; λ = wavelength; k = wave vector; c = speed of light; m = particle rest mass; vp = phase velocity; vg = group velocity].

Journal of Modern Physics•Jan 1, 2023•2 citations

G4 The wave nature of matter

Gavin Whittaker, Andy Mount, Matthew Heal

In the particle-wave duality interpretation of matter and radiation (Topic G3) a particle moving in space can also be described as a wave in space with a wavelength related to the particle momentum by de Broglie’s equation, λ=h/p. In quantum mechanics, the notion of a particle moving in defined trajectories in a system is replaced entirely by this description of the system in terms of its wavefunctions, ψ. The wavefunction simultaneously describes all regions of space in which the particle it represents can be found. This, in turn, introduces the idea of uncertainty into quantum mechanics because the exact position of the particle at each point in time is not defined, only the region of space of all its possible positions. The exact shape of the wavefunction is important because the probability of finding the particle at each point is proportional to ψ2 at that point; a greater amplitude in the wavefunction corresponds to a greater probability density in the particle’s distribution.

Taylor & Francis eBooks•Jun 15, 2000•0 citations
Quantum mechanics rests on the axiom of wave particle duality. A point particle in the classical sense is a wave packet with a de Broglie wavelength. The latter increases as the particle mass and the temperature decrease. Thus quantum mechanics predicts an extended wave packet for tiny subatomic particles, especially when the temperature is low.
Wave-particle duality is widely regarded as one of the conceptual pillars of modern quantum theory, providing the framework through which the behavior of microscopic matter can be consistently interpreted. According to this principle, microscopic entities such as electrons, photons, atoms and even complex molecules exhibit both wave-like and particle-like properties depending on the experimental configuration used to observe them. This duality is quantitatively formalized through the De Broglie relation, which associates a wavelength with any particle possessing momentum. The present work provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the physical and mathematical foundations of wave-particle duality, focusing particularly on the De Broglie wavelength and the kinetic energy of the electron in both non-relativistic and relativistic regimes. The connection between the De Broglie hypothesis and Schrödinger’s equation is discussed in detail, highlighting the role of the kinetic energy operator and the interpretation of matter waves in terms of quantum wave packets. Experimental evidence supporting the wave nature of matter, including electron diffraction experiments and interferometry techniques, is also reviewed. Beyond their conceptual importance, these principles underpin several modern technologies, including electron microscopy, nanoscale semiconductor devices and quantum metrology. The analysis demonstrates that the De Broglie relation provides a unifying framework connecting momentum, wavelength and kinetic energy, thereby forming a fundamental bridge between classical mechanics, quantum theory and modern technological applications.
A satisfactory explanation of the confounding wave-particle duality of matter is presented in terms of the reality of the wave nature of a particle. In this view, a quantum particle is an objectively real wave packet consisting of irregular disturbances of underlying quantum fields. It travels holistically as a unit and thereby acts as a particle. Only the totality of the entire wave packet at any instance embodies all the conserved quantities, for example the energy-momentum, rest mass, and charge of the particle, and as such must be acquired all at once during detection. On this basis, many of the bizarre behaviors observed in the quantum domain, such as wave function collapse, the limitation of prediction to only a probability rather than an actuality, the apparent simultaneous existence of a particle in more than one place, and the inherent uncertainty can be reasonably comprehended. The necessity of acquiring the wave function in its entirety for detection, as evinced by the appearance of collapse of the wave function, supports the paradigm of reality of the wave function described here. Quanta 2016; 5: 93–100.
The de Broglie-Bohm “pilot-wave” theory replaces the paradoxical wave-particle duality of ordinary quantum theory with a more mundane and literal kind of duality: each individual photon or electron comprises a quantum wave (evolving in accordance with the usual quantum mechanical wave equation) and a particle that, under the influence of the wave, traces out a definite trajectory. The definite particle trajectory allows the theory to account for the results of experiments without the usual recourse to additional dynamical axioms about measurements. Instead, one need simply assume that particle detectors click when particles arrive at them. This alternative understanding of quantum phenomena is illustrated here for two elementary textbook examples of one-dimensional scattering and tunneling. We introduce a novel approach to reconcile standard textbook calculations (made using unphysical plane-wave states) with the need to treat such phenomena in terms of normalizable wave packets. This approach allows for a simple but illuminating analysis of the pilot-wave theory's particle trajectories and an explicit demonstration of the equivalence of the pilot-wave theory predictions with those of ordinary quantum theory.
Dispersion dynamics applies wave-particle duality, together with Maxwell’s electromagnetism, and with quantization E = hν = ħω (symbol definitions in footnote) and p = h/λ = ħk, to special relativity E2 = p2c2 + m2c4. Calculations on a wave-packet, that is symmetric about the normal distribution, are partly conservative and partly responsive. The complex electron wave function is chiefly modelled on the real wave function of an electromagnetic photon; while the former concept of a “point particle” is downgraded to mathematical abstraction. The computations yield conclusions for phase and group velocities, vp⋅vg = c2 with vp ≥ c because vg ≤ c, as in relativity. The condition on the phase velocity is most noticeable when p≪mc. Further consequences in dispersion dynamics are: derivations for ν and λ that are consistently established by one hundred years of experience in electron microscopy and particle accelerators. Values for vp = νλ = ω/k are therefore systematically verified by the products of known multiplicands or divisions by known divisors, even if vp is not independently measured. These consequences are significant in reduction of the wave-packet by resonant response during interactions between photons and electrons, for example, or between particles and particles. Thus the logic of mathematical quantum mechanics is distinguished from experiential physics that is continuous in time, and consistent with uncertainty principles. [Footnote: symbol E = energy; h = Planck’s constant; ν = frequency; ω = angular momentum; p = momentum; λ = wavelength; k = wave vector; c = speed of light; m = particle rest mass; vp = phase velocity; vg = group velocity].
In the particle-wave duality interpretation of matter and radiation (Topic G3) a particle moving in space can also be described as a wave in space with a wavelength related to the particle momentum by de Broglie’s equation, λ=h/p. In quantum mechanics, the notion of a particle moving in defined trajectories in a system is replaced entirely by this description of the system in terms of its wavefunctions, ψ. The wavefunction simultaneously describes all regions of space in which the particle it represents can be found. This, in turn, introduces the idea of uncertainty into quantum mechanics because the exact position of the particle at each point in time is not defined, only the region of space of all its possible positions. The exact shape of the wavefunction is important because the probability of finding the particle at each point is proportional to ψ2 at that point; a greater amplitude in the wavefunction corresponds to a greater probability density in the particle’s distribution.