Ever since quantum mechanics was first developed, it has been unclear what it really tells us about reality. A novel framework, based on 5 axioms, is presented here which offers an interpretation of quantum mechanics unlike any considered thus far: It is postulated that physical objects can exist in one of two distinct modes, based on whether they have an intrinsic actual spacetime history or not. If they do, their mode of existence is actual and they can be described by classical physics. If they do not, then their mode of existence is called actualizable and they must be described in terms of an equal-weight superposition of all possible actualizable (not actual) histories. The distinction is based on an axiom according to which there exists a limit in which spacetime reduces to a one-dimension reduced version, called areatime, and that objects which merely actualizably exist in spacetime actually exist in areatime. The operational comparison of the passage of time for such objects to the passage of time for a spacetime observer is postulated to be made possible by what is called an angular dual bilateral symmetry. This symmetry can be decomposed into the superposition of two imaginary phase angles of opposite sign. To mathematically describe the spacetime manifestation of objects which actually exist in areatime, each actualizable spacetime history is associated with an actualizable path, which in turn is associated with the imaginary phases. For a single free particle, the complex exponent is identified with a term proportional to its relativistic action, thus recovering the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics. Although based on some highly unfamiliar ideas, this framework appears to render at least some of the usual mysteries connected with quantum mechanics amenable to simple conceptual understanding. It also appears to connect the foundations of quantum theory to the foundation of the special theory of relativity while clarifying its relationship to the general theory of relativity and yields a testable prediction about a type of experiment, as yet unperformed, which under the current paradigm is utterly unexpected, namely, that the gravitational field of radiation is zero. The paper concludes with some speculations about how the theory may be extended to a metatheory of nature.(Note the paper was edited on 3-October-2011 to remove one sentence on page 7)
Ever since quantum mechanics was first developed, it has been unclear what it really tells us about reality. A novel framework, based on 5 axioms, is presented here which offers an interpretation of quantum mechanics unlike any considered thus far: It is postulated that physical objects can exist in one of two distinct modes, based on whether they have an intrinsic actual spacetime history or not. If they do, their mode of existence is actual and they can be described by classical physics. If they do not, then their mode of existence is called actualizable and they must be described in terms of an equal-weight superposition of all possible actualizable (not actual) histories. The distinction is based on an axiom according to which there exists a limit in which spacetime reduces to a one-dimension reduced version, called areatime, and that objects which merely actualizably exist in spacetime actually exist in areatime. The operational comparison of the passage of time for such objects to the passage of time for a spacetime observer is postulated to be made possible by what is called an angular dual bilateral symmetry. This symmetry can be decomposed into the superposition of two imaginary phase angles of opposite sign. To mathematically describe the spacetime manifestation of objects which actually exist in areatime, each actualizable spacetime history is associated with an actualizable path, which in turn is associated with the imaginary phases. For a single free particle, the complex exponent is identified with a term proportional to its relativistic action, thus recovering the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics. Although based on some highly unfamiliar ideas, this framework appears to render at least some of the usual mysteries connected with quantum mechanics amenable to simple conceptual understanding. It also appears to connect the foundations of quantum theory to the foundation of the special theory of relativity while clarifying its relationship to the general theory of relativity and yields a testable prediction about a type of experiment, as yet unperformed, which under the current paradigm is utterly unexpected, namely, that the gravitational field of radiation is zero. The paper concludes with some speculations about how the theory may be extended to a metatheory of nature.(Note the paper was edited on 3-October-2011 to remove one sentence on page 7)
Ever since quantum mechanics was first developed, it has been unclear what it really tells us about reality. A novel framework, based on 5 axioms, is presented here which offers an interpretation of quantum mechanics unlike any considered thus far: It is postulated that physical objects can exist in one of two distinct modes, based on whether they have an intrinsic actual spacetime history or not. If they do, their mode of existence is actual and they can be described by classical physics. If they do not, then their mode of existence is called actualizable and they must be described in terms of an equal-weight superposition of all possible actualizable (not actual) histories. The distinction is based on an axiom according to which there exists a limit in which spacetime reduces to a one-dimension reduced version, called areatime, and that objects which merely actualizably exist in spacetime actually exist in areatime. The operational comparison of the passage of time for such objects to the passage of time for a spacetime observer is postulated to be made possible by what is called an angular dual bilateral symmetry. This symmetry can be decomposed into the superposition of two imaginary phase angles of opposite sign. To mathematically describe the spacetime manifestation of objects which actually exist in areatime, each actualizable spacetime history is associated with an
Abstract Quantum mechanics and relativity are extraordinarily successful mathematical theories, yet their conventional physical interpretations rely on substantially different conceptual frameworks. The Theory of Space (TS) proposes a fourth dimension defined by the Planck-related interval, with interpreted as a longitudinal dimension associated with energy (cτ), rather than as the conventional Minkowski spacetime interval. This fourth dimension does not coexist continuously with the observable three spatial dimensions as a conventional four-dimensional manifold. Instead, TS proposes an oscillatory existence between observable 3D presence and a non-observable fourth-dimensional phase. Through this oscillation, the quantum system undergoes repeated dimensional projection into observable 3D, with individual eigenstates manifested probabilistically while the underlying quantum state continues to evolve. Within this framework, phenomena including measurement, the Born rule, the arrow of time, entropy, entanglement, tunneling, and Bell-type correlations acquire a common physical interpretation. Heisenberg uncertainty and non-commutativity are interpreted as consequences of physical parameters associated with different phases of the dimensional oscillation and therefore not simultaneously manifested within the same 3D instance. TS further distinguishes between the quantum system’s spatial component and its compact physical entity. Their coexistence within the complete system provides a proposed physical basis for quantum interference and phase-dependent phenomena, including the double-slit experiment and the path-integral description of quantum evolution. As an extension of the model, TS proposes that the periodic displacement and replacement of quantum space generate a pulsed inward spatial flow. This mechanism provides a possible basis for a quantized gravitational interaction and suggests that gravitational energy may be represented by a positive contribution. Related developments, including spiral spatial flows, follow naturally from the same dimensional-oscillation mechanism. The Theory of Space therefore seeks to provide a common conceptual framework for quantum, relativistic, and gravitational phenomena without replacing the established mathematical equations that successfully reproduce experimental observations. The present work develops this framework and invites critical examination of its assumptions, physical implications, and potential experimental consequences. Keywords: relativity; Lorentz transformation; quantum superposition; quantum superposition; collapse; entanglement; quantum gravity
Using Special Relativity (SR) as a starting point, then noting a few empirical 4-Vector facts, one can derive the Principles that are normally considered to be Axioms of Quantum Mechanics (QM). Since many of the QM Axioms are rather obscure, this seems a more logical and understandable paradigm than QM as a separate theory from SR, and sheds light on the origin and meaning of the QM Principles. For instance, the properties of SR can be “quantized by the Metric”, while SpaceTime & the Metric are not themselves “quantized”, in agreement with all known experiments and observations to-date. The SRQM or [SR→QM] Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: A Tensor Study of Physical 4-Vectors. I also introduce the SRQM Diagramming Method: an instructive, graphical charting-method, which visually shows how the SRQM 4-Vectors, Lorentz 4-Scalars, and 4-Tensors are all related to each other. This symbolic representation clarifies a lot of physics and is a great tool for teaching and understanding. The use of 4-Vectors allows many deep results simply by noticing symmetries in the equations. 4-Vectors = 4D (1,0)-Tensors are a fantastic language/tool for describing the physics of both relativistic and quantum phenomena. They easily show many interesting properties and relations of our Universe, and do so in a simple and concise mathematical way. Due to their tensorial nature, these SR 4-Vectors are automatically coordinate-frame invariant, and can be used to generate *ALL* of the physical SR Lorentz Scalar (0,0)-Tensors and higher-rank SR Tensors. Let me repeat: You can mathematically build *ALL* the Lorentz Scalars and larger SR Tensors from SR 4-Vectors. 4-Vectors are likewise easily shown to be related to the standard 3-vectors that are used in Newtonian classical mechanics, Maxwellian classical electromagnetism, and standard quantum theory. Each 4-Vector also connects a special relativistically-related scalar to a 3-vector: ex. Temporal energy (E) & Spatial 3-momentum (p) as 4-Momentum P = (E/c,p). Why 4-Vectors as opposed to some of the more abstract mathematical approaches to Quantum Mechanics (QM)? Because the components of 4-Vectors are physical properties that can actually be empirically measured. Experiment is the ultimate arbiter of which theories actually correspond to reality. If your quantum logics and string theories give no testable/measurable predictions, then they are basically useless for real, actual, empirical physics. In this treatise, I will first extensively demonstrate how 4-Vectors are used in the context of Special Relativity (SR),and then show that their use in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics (RQM) is really not fundamentally different. Quantum Principles, without need of QM Axioms, then emerge in a natural and elegant way.
A type of mechanics will be presented that possesses some distinctive properties. On the one hand, its physical description & rules of operation are readily comprehensible & intuitively clear. On the other, it fully satisfies all observable predictions of non-relativistic quantum mechanics. Within it, particles exist at points in space, follow continuous, piecewise differentiable paths, and their linear momentum is equal to their mass times their velocity along their path. Yet the probabilities for position and momentum, conditioned on the state of the particle's environment, follow the rules of quantum theory. Indeed, all observable consequences of quantum theory are satisfied; particles can be entangled, have intrinsic spin, this spin is not local to the particle, particle identity can effect probabilities, and so forth. All the rules of quantum mechanics are obeyed, and all arise in a straightforward fashion. After this is established, connections will be drawn out between this type of mechanics and other types of quantum worlds; those that obey Bohmian mechanics, stochastic mechanics, the many worlds interpretation, and physical collapse. In the final section, a relativistic version of the mechanics will be presented.
Some aspects of the interpretation of microscopic physics in terms of quantum theory are discussed. It is first emphasized that quantum theory is formulated in a Cartesian coordinate system; in other coordinates the result obtained with the help of the Hamiltonian formalism and commutation relations between ''canonically conjugated'' coordinate and momentum operators leads to a wrong version of quantum mechanics. In this connection the Feynman integral formalism is also discussed. In this formalism the measure is not well defined, and there is no idea how to distinguish between the true version of quantum mechanics and an incorrect one. In this respect, the Feynman approach consists of a mnemonic rule to generate perturbation series from an undefined zero-order term. The origin of time in the quantum framework is then analyzed in detail and illustrated by the example of atomic collisions. It is shown that the time-dependent Schr ¨ odinger equation for the closed three-body (two nuclei + electron) system has no physical meaning because in the high-impact energy limit it transforms into an equation with two independent time-like variables; time naturally appears in the stationary Schr ¨ odinger equation as a result of extraction of a classical subsystem (two nuclei) from a closed three-body system. Finally, following the well-known Einstein-Rosen-Podolsky experiment and Bell's inequality, we reiterate that the wave function must be interpreted as an actual field of information, in a form as elementary as the usual material particles and electromagnetic fields. In fact, experimental measurements transfer this quantum information field into the classical world, which is directly discernable. In my conclusion, the relation between physical reality and its mathematical formulation is discussed. 2012 Physics Essays Publication. (DOI: 10.4006/0836-1398-25.1.27) R ´
The quantum superposition principle, which expresses the idea that a system can exist simultaneously in two or more mutually exclusive states is at the heart of the mystery of quantum mechanics. This paper presents an axiom, called the principle of actualizable histories, which naturally leads to the quantum superposition principle. However, in order to be applicable to massive systems, it requires introducing a novel distinction between actualizable and actual mass. By means of arriving in conjunction with two previously introduced axioms at the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, it is shown that actualizable mass is the central concept of mass in quantum theory, whereas actual mass is the central concept in classical theories, and in particular general relativity. This distinction sharply segregates the domains of validity of the two theories, making it incompatible with any theory of quantum gravity which does not respect this segregation. Finally, an experiment is suggested to test this idea.