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arXiv:physics/0610234

Quantum mechanical transformation between reference frames - a discursive spacetime diagram approach

M.J. Dance

Published Oct 26, 2006• 3 citations
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Abstract

Heisenberg's uncertainty relation means that one observer cannot know an exact position and velocity for another (finite mass) observer. By contrast, the Poincare transformation of classical special relativity assumes that one observer knows the other's position and velocity exactly. The present paper describes a simple-minded way to consider the issue using a semiclassical discussion of spacetime diagrams, and draws out some possible implications. Uncertainties arise in transformations. A consideration is raised regarding the use of light-cone coordinates.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.physics/0610234

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Heisenberg's uncertainty relation means that one observer cannot know an exact position and velocity for another (finite mass) observer. By contrast, the Poincare transformation of classical special relativity assumes that one observer knows the other's position and velocity exactly. The present paper describes a simple-minded way to consider the issue using a semiclassical discussion of spacetime diagrams, and draws out some possible implications. Uncertainties arise in transformations. A consideration is raised regarding the use of light-cone coordinates.
Abstract The subject of quantum reference frame transformations gets popular lately with some interesting new theoretical development partly for the reason that the physics involved is becoming experimentally accessible. The position of a position eigenstate when observed from an object with ‘uncertainty’ in position would be seen with ‘uncertainty’. In fact, even the existence of entanglement is reference frame-dependent. We present an improved formulation of such a transformation and give a novel way to describe exactly by ‘how much’ the ‘value of the position’ has changed which fully encodes all information about the changes, including the ‘uncertainty’ and entanglement. That is an application of the notion of noncommutative values of physical quantities we introduced to understand the reality of quantum physics and beyond. Some implications on fundamental physics will also be discussed. In particular, we suggest thinking about quantum gravity as a theory of general quantum relativity, alleviating Penrose’s notion of incompatibility of qauntum mechanics with the relativity principle.
Abstract Quantum reference frame as in the example of observing a quantum particle from another has been a topic of much recent interest. Quantum spatial translations, quantum rotations, and quantum Lorentz boosts in the sense have been studied to some extent. The article aims at using a consistent formulation of all that to give a full picture of what would be the symmetry of Special Quantum Relativity as special relativity as seen from quantum particles. We first look at a direct formulation of the mathematical quantum analog of any classical one-parameter Lie group of such transformations suggested by our Heisenberg picture thinking of quantum mechanics. A quantum rotation and a quantum Lorentz boost are presented. Analysis of the compositions of two such transformations shows unnatural results with various problems, especially with their commutators. From a physical point of view, we argue for a modified formulation. A quantum reference frame transformation, as the description of firstly the spacetime position of an object, idealized as a particle, as seen from another has to involve a full set of four-coordinate quantum quantities instead of one in a single coordinate only. Unlike the classical case, we illustrate that the analog of a change by the zero classical coordinate values has nontrivial effects in the transformation. A consistent full picture of the symmetry is then obtained. Results that could be interpreted essentially as the quantum analogs of the translation of a single coordinate observable, including angular ones for a rotation or a boost, can be retrieved from that but only as approximations. Under the traditional perspective of relativity symmetry being about spacetime reference frames, our task is then completed. We further look at the quantum version of Heisenberg–Weyl symmetry and perspectives on its relation with the subject matter and argue for the necessity of our background noncommutative geometric perspective for a conceptual consistent story.
A quantum frame is defined by a material object subject to the laws of quantum mechanics. The present paper studies the relations between quantum frames, which in the classical case are described by elements of the Poincare' group. The possibility of using a suitable quantum group is examined, but some arguments are given which show that a different mathematical structure is necessary. Some simple examples in lower dimensional spacetimes are treated. They indicate the necessity of taking into account some "internal" degrees of freedom of the quantum frames, that can be disregarded in a classical treatment.
This paper presents a conceptual framework for reinterpreting the Lorentz transformation through the lens of quantum mechanics. By treating spacetime as a quantum structure, the author explores the eigenvalue nature of the speed of light (±c) and derives relativistic effects from the probabilistic superposition of lightlike intervals. Key highlights: - **Quantum Spacetime:** Proposes that space and time are not independent backgrounds but emerge from the quantum states of spacetime quanta. - **Derivation of Lorentz Transformation:** Demonstrates how the transformation arises from the statistical correlation of quantum states rather than classical kinematics. - **Philosophical Implications:** Offers a novel perspective on the ontology of motion, suggesting that reference frames are representations of quantum states. This work aims to provide an intuitive understanding of special relativity and stimulate discussion on the quantum nature of spacetime.
The Heisenberg equation may not be as well-known as Einstein’s e=mc^2. But the Heisenberg equation’s implications that there is an irreducible uncertainty with regard to the position of an object are no less intriguing than the implications of Einstein’s relativity equation that time slows to a stop when the relative velocity of an object approaches the speed of light. Using elementary mathematics and science, this paper begins by examining the physics of motion of an everyday object such as a tennis ball. The paper shows that the same physics that applies to everyday objects in fact also applies when it comes to subatomic particles, such as an electron in motion. And by taking gradual incremental steps in developing the mathematics of the underlying physics, the paper leads to the conclusion that the universe is inherently uncertain, that it is impossible to know the exact position of any object.
The Heisenberg equation may not be as well-known as Einstein’s e=mc^2. But the Heisenberg equation’s implications that there is an irreducible uncertainty with regard to the position of an object are no less intriguing than the implications of Einstein’s relativity equation that time slows to a stop when the relative velocity of an object approaches the speed of light. Using elementary mathematics and science, this paper begins by examining the physics of motion of an everyday object such as a tennis ball. The paper shows that the same physics that applies to everyday objects in fact also applies when it comes to subatomic particles, such as an electron in motion. And by taking gradual incremental steps in developing the mathematics of the underlying physics, the paper leads to the conclusion that the universe is inherently uncertain, that it is impossible to know the exact position of any object.