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arXiv:quant-ph/9702013 · Physical Review A

Proposal for an experiment to measure the Hausdorff dimensionof quantum-mechanical trajectories

H. Kröger

Published Feb 1, 1997• 15 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We make a proposal for a Gedanken experiment, based on the Aharonov-Bohm effect, regarding how to measure in principle the zigzagness of the trajectory of propagation (aberration from its classical trajectory) of a massive particle in quantum mechanics. Experiment I is conceived to show that contributions from quantum paths aberrating from the classical trajectory are directly observable. Experiment II is conceived to measure average length, scaling behavior, and critical exponent (Hausdorff dimension) of quantum-mechanical paths.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.55.951

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We make a proposal for a Gedanken experiment, based on the Aharonov-Bohm effect, regarding how to measure in principle the zigzagness of the trajectory of propagation (aberration from its classical trajectory) of a massive particle in quantum mechanics. Experiment I is conceived to show that contributions from quantum paths aberrating from the classical trajectory are directly observable. Experiment II is conceived to measure average length, scaling behavior, and critical exponent (Hausdorff dimension) of quantum-mechanical paths.
In a seminal paper, Abbott et al. analyzed the relationship between a particle's trajectory and the resolution of position measurements performed by an observer at fixed time intervals. They predicted that quantum paths exhibit a universal Hausdorff dimension that transitions from d=2d=2d=2 to d=1d=1d=1 as the momentum of the particle increases. However, although measurements were assumed to occur at intervals of time, the calculations only involved evaluating the expectation value of operators for the free evolution of wave function within a single interval, with no actual physical measurements performed. In this work we investigate how quantum measurements alter the fractal geometry of quantum particle paths. By modelling sequential measurements using Gaussian wave packets for both the particle and the apparatus, we reveal that the dynamics of the measurement change the roughness of the path and shift the emergent Hausdorff dimension towards a lower value in nonselective evolution. For selective evolution, feedback control forces must be introduced to counteract stochastic wave function collapse, stabilising trajectories and enabling dimensionality to be tuned. When the contribution of the measurement approaches zero, our result reduces to that of Abbott et al. Our work can thus be regarded as a more realistic formulation of their approach, and it connects theoretical quantum fractality with measurement physics, quantifying how detectors reshape spacetime statistics at quantum scales.
This work is about Bohmian mechanics, a non-relativistic quantum theory about the motion of particles and their trajectories, named after its inventor David Bohm (Bohm,1952). This mechanics resolves all paradoxes associated with the measurement problem in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. It accounts for quantum randomness, absolute uncertainty, the meaning of the wave function of a system, collapse of the wave function, and familiar (macroscopic) reality. We review the purpose for which Bohmian trajectories were invented: to serve as the foundation of quantum mechanics, i.e., to explain quantum mechanics in terms of a theory that is free of paradoxes and allows an understanding that is as clear as that of classical mechanics. To achieve this we analyse an optical interferometry experiment devised and carried out 2005 by Shahriar Afshar (Afshar,2005). The radical claim of Afshar implies in his own words the 'observation of physical reality in the classical sense' for both 'which path (particle-like)' and 'interference (wave-like)' properties of photons in the same experimental setup through the violation of the Englert-Greenberger duality relation (Englert,1996) that according to Englert can be regarded as quantifying of the 'principle of complementarity'.
The proposal that the one-parameter solutions of the real part of the Schrodinger equation (quantum Hamilton-Jacobi equation) can be regarded as `quantum particle trajectories' has received considerable attention recently. Opinions as to their significance differ. Some argue that they do play a fundamental role as actual particle trajectories, others regard them as mere metaphysical appendages without any physical significance. Recent work has claimed that in some cases the Bohm approach gives results that disagree with those obtained from standard quantum mechanics and, in consequence, with experiment. Furthermore it is claimed that these trajectories have such unacceptable properties that they can only be considered as `surreal'. We re-examine these questions and show that the specific objections raised by Englert, Scully, Sussmann and Walther cannot be sustained. We also argue that contrary to their negative view, these trajectories can provide a deeper insight into quantum processes.
The two main features of the Aharonov-Bohm effect are the topological dependence of accumulated phase on the winding number around the magnetic fluxon, and nonlocality-local observations at any intermediate point along the trajectories are not affected by the fluxon. The latter property is usually regarded as exclusive to quantum mechanics. Here we show that both the topological and nonlocal features of the Aharonov-Bohm effect can be manifested in a classical model that incorporates random noise. The model also suggests new types of multiparticle topological nonlocal effects which have no quantum analog.