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Quantum Entities and the Nature of Time

Leonardo Chiatti

Published Aug 4, 2023• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The conceptual statute of modern quantum theory was formulated during the 5th Solvay Conference in 1927 and since then accepted as definitive, although criticisms and discussions have continued up to the present. The more properly physical aspects of the debate seem to concern the relationship between quantum entities and spacetime. A historical circumstance that should not be ignored is that in 1927 the exploration of the realm of the fundamental constituents of matter (the so-called "elementary particles") was just in its infancy, and therefore the properties of these constituents could not play a constitutive role in the theory. Here we propose to re-read the nature of quantum entities starting from the peculiar relationship that the elementary particles that constitute them maintain with the spatial domain. In particular, it is assumed that this relationship is mediated by time and that the time accessible to elementary particles (but not to the systems they compose) is a complex variable rather than a real one. This approach helps to dissolve much of the "mystery" surrounding quantum phenomena.

DOI
10.32388/5utzo4

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The conceptual statute of modern quantum theory was formulated during the 5th Solvay Conference in 1927 and since then accepted as definitive, although criticisms and discussions have continued up to the present. The more properly physical aspects of the debate seem to concern the relationship between quantum entities and spacetime. A historical circumstance that should not be ignored is that in 1927 the exploration of the realm of the fundamental constituents of matter (the so-called "elementary particles") was just in its infancy, and therefore the properties of these constituents could not play a constitutive role in the theory. Here we propose to re-read the nature of quantum entities starting from the peculiar relationship that the elementary particles that constitute them maintain with the spatial domain. In particular, it is assumed that this relationship is mediated by time and that the time accessible to elementary particles (but not to the systems they compose) is a complex variable rather than a real one. This approach helps to dissolve much of the "mystery" surrounding quantum phenomena.
The conceptual statute of modern quantum theory was formulated during the 5th Solvay Conference in 1927 and since then accepted as definitive, although criticisms and discussions have continued up to the present. The more properly physical aspects of the debate seem to concern the relationship between quantum entities and spacetime. A historical circumstance that should not be ignored is that in 1927 the exploration of the realm of the fundamental constituents of matter (the so-called "elementary particles") was just in its infancy, and therefore the properties of these constituents could not play a constitutive role in the theory. Here we propose to re-read the nature of quantum entities starting from the peculiar relationship that the elementary particles that constitute them maintain with the spatial domain. In particular, it is assumed that this relationship is mediated by time and that the time accessible to elementary particles (but not to the systems they compose) is a complex variable rather than a real one. This approach helps to dissolve much of the "mystery" surrounding quantum phenomena.
The basic concepts of space and time have undergone radical changes in the course of history, which render the Newtonian notions of elementary particles obsolete. This was inherent in the formulations of quantum mechanics, as the zitterbewegung of quantum-mechanical free particles are not the same as that of classical ones. The quantum field theories do not fare any better as particles and the corresponding fields are inseparable concepts. As physical concepts are becoming fuzzy, the definition of what constitutes an experimental "discovery" of an elementary particle is being revised. In these attempts, the quasi-particles, which are simple mathematical conveniences, tend to be reclassified as physical entities. The current model depictions of physical vacuum as superconducting medium do not accommodate a picture of elementary particles as individual entities. It is a situation where interactions and interactants become entangled and description of either one independent of the other is unattainable.
An interpretation and re-formulation of modern physics which removes the presumption of the space-time continuum, and bases physical theory on a small number of rational and empirical principles. After briefly describing the philosophical principles underlying the theory, we rigorously construct a discrete model of quantum mechanics. Kets are names, or labels which categorise states of matter but do not directly describe them. The principle of superposition is seen as a definitional truism in the categorisation of states. This resolves the measurement problem of quantum mechanics by attributing the collapse of the wave function to information. The probability interpretation has a natural meaning in which the configuration of interacting particles plays the role of a hidden variable. The model supports a form of relativistic quantum field theory which does not depend on quantisation or second quantisation from classical mechanics. Continuous laws of wave mechanics are found in a discrete metaphysic which does not involve waves. Classical law is the expected behaviour of many elementary particles. The constraints on the theory are sufficient to establish that particles are point-like entities with specific properties found in nature. Newton's first law and conservation of momentum are established from the principle of homogeneity. Maxwell's equations are derived from the simple interaction in which a Dirac particle emits or absorbs a photon. Feynman rules are calculated for the discrete theory and differ from the standard rules by the removal of the ultraviolet divergence and the use of proper loop integrals. They give finite and unambiguous results.
Abstract: Since the very begining of quantum theory there started a debate on the proper role of space and time in it. Some authors assumed that space and time have their own algebraic operators. On that basis they supposed that quantum particles had “coordinates of position”, even though those coordinates were not possible to determine with infinite precision. Furthermore, time in quantum physics was taken to be on an equal foot, by means of a so-called “Heisenberg’s fourth relation of indeterminacy ” concerning time and energy. In this paper, the proper role of space and time in the core of non-relativistic quantum phsysics is analyzed. We will find that, rigorously, that relation for time and energy shows a different root. For the role of space, it will be discussed that there is no “coordinate of position ” in the conceptual structure of quantum physics because quantum particles are not point-like objects. 1.
Since the very begining of quantum theory there started a debate on the proper role of space and time in it. Some authors assumed that space and time have their own algebraic operators. On that basis they supposed that quantum particles had “coordinates of position”, even though those coordinates were not possible to determine with infinite precision. Furthermore, time in quantum physics was taken to be on an equal foot, by means of a so-called “Heisenberg’s fourth relation of indeterminacy” concerning time and energy. In this paper, the proper role of space and time in the core of non-relativistic quantum phsysics is analyzed. We will find that, rigorously, that relation for time and energy shows a different root. For the role of space, it will be discussed that there is no “coordinate of position” in the conceptual structure of quantum physics because quantum particles are not point-like objects.
The classical concept of 'physical entity', be it particle, wave, fleld or system, has become a problematic concept since the advent of relativity theory and quantum mechanics. The recent developments in modern quantum mechanics, with the performance of delicate and precise experiments involving single quantum entities, manifesting explicit non-local behavior for these entities, brings essential new information about the nature of the concept of entity. Such fundamental categories as space and time are put into question, and only a recourse to more axiomatic descriptions seems possible. In this contribution we want to put forward a 'picture' of what an 'entity' might be, taking into account these recent experimental and theoretical results, and using fundamental results of the axiomatic physical theories (describing classical as well as quantum entities) such as they have been developed during the last decade. We call our approach the 'creation-discovery view' because it considers measurements as physical interactions that in general entail two aspects: (1) a discovery of an already existing reality and (2) a creation of new aspects of reality during the act of measurement. We analyze the paradoxes of orthodox quantum mechanics in this creation-discovery view and point out the pre-scientiflc preconceptions that are contained in the well-known orthodox interpretations of quantum mechanics. Finally we identify orthodox quantum mechanics as a flrst order non classical theory, and explain in this way why it is so successful in its numerical predictions