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arXiv:quant-ph/9710011

Is an Electromagnetic Extension of the Schroedinger Equation Possible?

Waldemar Puszkarz

Published Oct 2, 1997• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The idea of equivalence of the free electromagnetic phase and quantum-mechanical one is investigated in an attempt to seek modifications of Schrödinger's equation that could realize it. It is assumed that physically valid realizations are compatibile with the U(1)-gauge and Galilean invariance. It is shown that such extensions of the Schrödinger equation do not exist, which also means that despite their apparent similarity the quantum-mechanical phase is essentially different from the electromagnetic one.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/9710011

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The idea of equivalence of the free electromagnetic phase and quantum-mechanical one is investigated in an attempt to seek modifications of Schrödinger's equation that could realize it. It is assumed that physically valid realizations are compatibile with the U(1)-gauge and Galilean invariance. It is shown that such extensions of the Schrödinger equation do not exist, which also means that despite their apparent similarity the quantum-mechanical phase is essentially different from the electromagnetic one.
We propose a nonlinear modification of the Schrödinger equation that possesses the main properties of this equation such as the Galilean invariance, the weak separability of composite systems, and the homogeneity in the wave function. The modification is derived from the relativistic relation between the energy and momentum of free particle and, as such, it is the best relativistic extension of the Schrödinger equation that preserves the properties in question. The only change it effectively entails in the Schrödinger equation involves the conserved probability current. It is pointed out that it partially retains the linear superposition principle and that it can be used to model the process of decoherence.
A nonlinear modification of the Schrödinger equation is proposed in which the Lagrangian density for the Schrödinger equation is extended by terms polynomial in Δmln⁡(Ψ∗/Ψ)Δ^{m}\ln (Ψ^{*}/Ψ)Δmln(Ψ∗/Ψ) multiplied by Ψ∗ΨΨ^{*}ΨΨ∗Ψ. This introduces a homogeneous nonlinearity in a Galilean invariant manner through the phase SSS rather than the amplitude RRR of the wave function Ψ=Rexp⁡(iS)Ψ=R\exp (iS)Ψ=Rexp(iS). From this general scheme we choose the simplest minimal model defined in some reasonable way. The model in question offers the simplest way to modify the Bohm formulation of quantum mechanics so as to allow a leading phase contribution to the quantum potential and a leading quantum contribution to the probability current removing asymmetries present in Bohm's original formulation. It preserves most of physically relevant properties of the Schrödinger equation including stationary states of quantum-mechanical systems. It can be thought of as the simplest model of nonlinear quantum mechanics of extended objects among other such models that also emerge within the general scheme proposed. The extensions of this model to nnn particles and the question of separability of compound systems are studied. It is noted that there exists a weakly separable extension in addition to a strongly separable one. The place of the general modification scheme in a broader spectrum of nonlinear modifications of the Schrödinger equation is discussed. It is pointed out that the models it gives rise to have a unique definition of energy in that the field-theoretical energy functional coincides with the quantum-mechanical one. It is found that the Lagrangian for its simplest variant represents the Lagrangian for a restricted version of the Doebner-Goldin modification of this equation.
An axiomatic approach to quantum mechanics that has, as a theorem, the Schrödinger equation may be of enormous value to cope with interpretation issues, since all the interpretation constructs must be present in the axioms, or directly derived by them from their mathematical unfolding. Thus, it is critical to show that this axiomatic derivation is reliable beyond any possible doubt. To show this, it is possible to make generalizations and extensions of the axioms to derive the Schrödinger equation in the underlying generalized or extended formats. In previous papers, we have shown that the axiomatic approach we propose can be used to derive the Schrödinger equation as a direct axiom. Since then, we have also shown that it was possible to generalize that derivation to coordinate systems other than the Cartesian, as well as its relativistic extensions that lead to the relativistic wave equations. An extension to dissipative systems was also performed, allowing us to mathematically derive the Caldirola–Kanai equation from first principles. All these derivations were performed using pure states and in the absence of the electromagnetic field. This means that we can further generalize the approach to embrace these two possibilities. Being an axiomatic approach, we show that we need only to slightly modify the axioms to derive the Schrödinger equation for these two contexts. Despite being quite direct, the algebraic complexity of these derivations should give the reader the desired confidence in the proposed axioms.
It is not possible to use the Schrödinger equation to describe the motion of a particle with relativistic effects since it is not invariant relative to the Lorentz transformation. However, the attempt to generalize quantum mechanics in the relativistic domain on the basis of the one particle theory is somehow difficult. So we find the appropriate equations on the basis of the relativistic invariance. To obtain the non-relativistic equations, we take the limit as the speed of light tends to infinity. This obviously recovers the Schrödinger equation. Under this heading, we extend the non-relativistic Schrödinger equation in the description of particles with speeds comparable with that of light. This extension should be consistent with the Lorentz transformation [ 12 ]. The characteristic feature of the relativistic wave equations is the spin which provides a useful gauge in the applicability of particular equations that describe particular kinds of particles. We have two types of relativistic equations, i.e., the equation with spin-zero due to Schrödinger and spin-half due to Dirac that describes the electron.
The wave function of quantum mechanics is not a boost invariant and gauge invariant quantity. Correspondingly, reference frame dependence and gauge dependence are inherited to most of the elements of the usual formulation of quantum mechanics (including operators, states and events). If a frame dependent and gauge dependent formalism is called, in short, a relative formalism, then the aim of the paper is to establish an absolute, i.e., frame and gauge free, reformulation of quantum mechanics. To fulfil this aim, we develop absolute quantities and the corresponding equations instead of the wave function and the Schrödinger equation. The absolute quantities have a more direct physical interpretation than the wave function has, and the corresponding equations express explicitly the independent physical aspects of the system which are contained in the Schrödinger equation in a mixed and more hidden form. Based on the absolute quantities and equations, events, states and physical quantities are introduced also in an absolute way. The formalism makes it possible to obtain some sharper versions of the uncertainty relation and to extend the validity of Ehrenfest's theorem. The absolute formulation allows wide extensions of quantum mechanics. To give examples, we discuss two known nonlinear extensions and, in close detail, a dissipative system. An argument is provided that the absolute formalism may lead to an explanation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect purely in terms of the electromagnetic field strength tensor. At last, on special relativistic and curved spacetimes, absolute quantities and equations instead of the Klein-Gordon wave function and equation are given, and their nonrelativistic limit is derived.