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arXiv:quant-ph/0607001

Physical meaning and derivation of Schrodinger and Dirac equations

Spyros Efthimiades

Published Jul 3, 2006• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The wavefunction of a particle is obtained from its intermediate states and interaction processes considered as happening concurrently. When the interaction is described by a potential, the energy of the particle is equal to its total kinetic plus potential energies. We derive the Schrodinger and Dirac equations as the unique conditions the wavefunction must satisfy at each point in order to fulfill the corresponding energy equation. PACS numbers: 03.65.-w. Keywords: Schrodinger equation; Dirac equation; Quantum dynamics.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0607001

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The wavefunction of a particle is obtained from its intermediate states and interaction processes considered as happening concurrently. When the interaction is described by a potential, the energy of the particle is equal to its total kinetic plus potential energies. We derive the Schrodinger and Dirac equations as the unique conditions the wavefunction must satisfy at each point in order to fulfill the corresponding energy equation. PACS numbers: 03.65.-w. Keywords: Schrodinger equation; Dirac equation; Quantum dynamics.
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The Schrodinger equation has been considered to be a postulate of quantum physics, but it is also perceived and derived heuristically as the quantum equivalent of the classical energy relation. We indicate that the Schrodinger equation cannot be a physical postulate, and we show that the heuristic derivations wrongly consider that the particle kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the momentum operator acting on the wavefunction. The correct term is proportional to the square of the momentum. Analyzing particle interactions, we realize that particles have multiple virtual motions and that each motion is accompanied by a wave that has constant amplitude. Accordingly, we define the wavefunction as the superposition of the virtual waves of the particle. As a result, quantum mechanics becomes a local and global theory, while in the traditional formulation it is a local theory. In several interaction settings we can tell what particle motions arise and explain the outcomes in simple and tangible terms. Most importantly, the mathematical foundation of quantum mechanics becomes clear and justified, and we derive the Schrodinger, Dirac, etc. equations as the conditions the wavefunction must satisfy at each space-time point in order to fulfill the respective total energy equation.
Abstract The Schrödinger equation relates the emergent quantities of wavefunction and electric potential and is postulated as a principle of quantum physics or obtained heuristically. However, physical consistency requires that the Schrödinger equation is a low-energy dynamical condition we can derive from the foundations of quantum electrodynamics. Due to the small value of the electromagnetic coupling constant, we show that the electric potential accurately represents the contributions of intermediate low-energy photon exchanges. Then, from the total nonrelativistic energy relation, we see that the dominant term of the electron wavefunction is a superposition of plane waves that satisfies the Schrödinger equation. Our derivation shows that the Schrödinger equation is not an energy conservation relation because its middle term does not represent the electron kinetic energy as assumed. We analyze the physical content of the Schrödinger equation and verify our assessments by calculating and evaluating the physical quantities in the ground state of the hydrogen atom. Furthermore, we explain why nonrelativistic quantum dynamics differs from classical dynamics. Undergraduate students can follow the derivation because it involves fundamental physical concepts and mathematical expressions, and we explain every step.
We determine that the wavefunction of an interacting particle is the superposition of its virtual concurrent states. In many cases we can tell what concurrent states arise. Furthermore, we derive the Schrodinger and Dirac equations as the unique conditions the wavefunction must satisfy at each point in order to fulfill the corresponding averaged energy relation. In the balanced particle state and wave approach we follow, quantum dynamics becomes tangible and we obtain a logically connected and physically justified quantum theory.
The Schrödinger equation was really postulated rather than derived. But we can see why it was postulated. It has been proven to be valid, in that it provides information about small, slow moving particles subject to a wide variety of potentials. The derivation of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) follows rather directly from assuming a free particle wave: Ψ = e i(kx-ωt) . If this wave function is plugged into the classical wave equation, and quantum principles are used, the two sides of the equation are not equal (this means this function does not "solve" the equation). The quantum principles required are an understanding of the photoelectric effect (by which E = ħω) and the de Broglie hypothesis (λ = h/p). Using these relationships, we show that one derivative of time is equal to a double derivative with respect to position, with a few proportionality factors mixed in. Thus, the TDSE for a free particle is just a statement that kinetic energy equals total energy . For a non-free particle (subject to a potential), potential must merely be added to the left-hand side of the equation, to yield kinetic energy plus potential energy equals total energy .
The one-particle Schrödinger and Dirac equations are derived, without making any quantization hypothesis, from the postulate that an elementary particle is a physical wave packet of dynamically varying form and size, rather than a pointlike object located somewhere within the support of a wavefunction that serves only as a mathematical probability amplitude. An isolated multiparticle system can, similarly, be described in principle as a set of interacting wave packets governed by coupled one-particle equations, a picture from which, in the nonrelativistic limit, the multiparticle Schrödinger equation can be obtained as a sufficiency condition for the system to have a conserved total energy equal to a particular value E .