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arXiv:hep-th/0601027 · International Journal of Modern Physics D

QUANTUM DETERMINISM FROM QUANTUM GENERAL COVARIANCE

HRVOJE NIKOLIĆ

Published Dec 1, 2006• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The requirement of general covariance of quantum field theory (QFT) naturally leads to quantization based on the manifestly covariant De Donder–Weyl formalism. To recover the standard noncovariant formalism without violating covariance, fields need to depend on time in a specific deterministic manner. This deterministic evolution of quantum fields is recognized as a covariant version of the Bohmian hidden-variable interpretation of QFT.

DOI
10.1142/s0218271806009595

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The requirement of general covariance of quantum field theory (QFT) naturally leads to quantization based on the manifestly covariant De Donder–Weyl formalism. To recover the standard noncovariant formalism without violating covariance, fields need to depend on time in a specific deterministic manner. This deterministic evolution of quantum fields is recognized as a covariant version of the Bohmian hidden-variable interpretation of QFT.
The requirement of general covariance of quantum field theory (QFT) naturally leads to quantization based on the manifestly covariant De Donder-Weyl formalism. To recover the standard noncovariant formalism without violating covariance, fields need to depend on time in a specific deterministic manner. This deterministic evolution of quantum fields is recognized as a covariant version of the Bohmian hidden-variable interpretation of QFT. The reconcilation of quantum theory with general theory of relativity is still an unsolved problem. It is very likely that the successful reconcilation requires a radical reformulation of the basic principles of relativity, or that of quantum theory, or both. One obvious difference between quantum theory and general relativity is that quantum theory, in contrast with general relativity, is an undeterministic theory. Most 1 attempts towards the reconcilation start from the assumption that quantum gravity, just as any quantum theory, should also be an undeterministic theory. However, in contrast with this mainstream quantum-undeterministic paradigm, ’t Hooft suggests
In quantum time (QT) schemes, time is promoted to a degree of freedom, allowing Lorentz covariance to be made explicit for single particles. We ask whether this can be lifted to QFT, so that Lorentz covariance becomes manifest at the Hilbert-space level, rather than being hidden as in the standard canonical formulation. We address this question by proposing a second-quantized approach in which the elementary particle is the QT particle itself, leading naturally to the notion of spacetime field algebras and of quantum action. We show, however, that a naive many-body construction runs into inconsistencies. To pinpoint their origin we introduce a classical counterpart of the second-quantized formalism, spacetime classical mechanics (SCM), and prove a no-go theorem: Dirac quantization of SCM collapses back to standard QFT and therefore hides covariance. We circumvent this problem by presenting a quantum-action-based quantization that yields a spacetime version of quantum mechanics (SQM), making covariance manifest for (interacting) QFTs. Finally, we show that this resolution is tied to a genuine spacetime generalization of the notion of quantum state, required by causality and closely connected to recent ``states over time'' proposals and, in dS/CFT-motivated settings, to microscopic notions of timelike entanglement and emergent time.
We propose a manifestly covariant canonical method of field quantization based on the classical De Donder-Weyl covariant canonical formulation of field theory. Owing to covariance, the space and time arguments of fields are treated on an equal footing. To achieve both covariance and consistency with standard noncovariant canonical quantization of fields in Minkowski spacetime, it is necessary to adopt a covariant Bohmian formulation of quantum field theory. A preferred foliation of spacetime emerges dynamically owing to a purely quantum effect. The application to a simple time-reparametrization invariant system and quantum gravity is discussed and compared with the conventional noncovariant Wheeler-DeWitt approach.
In this paper, we study implications of the geometrical nature of space- time for some of the basic tenets of quantum mechanics. That is, we study two different implications of the principle of general covariance; first we quantize a reparametrization invariant theory, the free particle in Minkowski spacetime and point out in detail where this theory fails (no- tably these comments appear to be missing in the literature). Second we study the covariance of quantum field theory and show how it connects to causality, the outcome of this study is that QFT is what we shall call ultra weakly covariant with respect to the background spacetime. Third, we treat the question of whether evolution in quantum theory (apart from the measurement act) needs to be unitary, it is easily shown that a per- fectly satisfying probabilistic interpretation exists which does not require unitary evolution. Fourth, we speculate on some modifications quantum theory should undergo in order for it to be generally covariant. The results in this paper hint at a profound change of the theory in which causality as a fundamental principle is abandonned.
Elements of the quantization in field theory based on the covariant polymomentum Hamiltonian formalism (the De Donder-Weyl theory), a possibility of which was originally discussed in 1934 by Born and Weyl, are developed. The approach is based on a recently proposed graded Poisson bracket on differential forms in field theory (see e.g. hep-th/9709229). A covariant analogue of the Schrödinger equation for a hypercomplex wave function on the space of field and space-time variables is put forward. It is shown to lead to the De Donder-Weyl Hamilton-Jacobi equations in quasiclassical limit. A possible relation to the functional Schrödinger picture in quantum field theory is outlined.