A Dirac sea pilot-wave model for quantum field theory

Colin, Samuel; Struyve, Ward

doi:10.1088/1751-8113/40/26/015

Cited by 103 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…In brief, starting from an equilibrium state of the particle configuration in which the motion of the particles is not observable (the "vacuum"), what appears as particle creation and annihilation events is accounted for in terms of excitations of the equilibrium state (see Colin andStruyve 2007 andDeckert et al 2016).…”

Section: Minimalist Ontology and Physical Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

A proposal for a minimalist ontology

Esfeld

2017

Synthese

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This paper seeks to answer the following question: What is a minimal set of entities that form an ontology of the natural world, given our well-established physical theories? The proposal is that the following two axioms are sufficient to obtain such a minimalist ontology: (1) There are distance relations that individuate simple objects, namely matter points. (2) The matter points are permanent, with the distances between them changing. I sketch out how one can obtain our wellestablished physical theories on the basis of just these two axioms. The argument for minimalism in ontology then is that it yields all the explanations that one can reasonably demand in science and philosophy, while avoiding the drawbacks that come with a richer ontology.Keywords: minimalist ontology, parsimony, Humeanism, relationalism about space-time, ontic structural realism, classical mechanics, quantum physics, Bohmian mechanics Formulating a minimalist ontologyAny form of a naturalistic metaphysics uses science, notably fundamental physics, as the guide to ontology. However, one cannot read off the ontology from the mathematical structure of a physical theory. The first and foremost purpose of such a structure is to obtain a simple and informative representation of the evolution of a given domain of entities. The mathematical structure uses whatever parameters are appropriate to achieve that aim, but these parameters do not thereby automatically become part of the ontology of the theory. To mention just one prominent example, consider the wave function, which is the central mathematical innovation of quantum physics. It is without doubt a parameter that fulfils the mentioned purpose, but there is an ongoing dispute about what, if any, its ontological significance is. Thus, even if one endorses scientific realism and adopts a naturalistic stance in metaphysics, philosophical argument is called for to develop a proposal for an ontology of a given physical theory, or physics tout court. One way to approach ontology is to draw a distinction between what can be called the primitive ontology of a given physical theory and what is its dynamical structure. The primitive ontology are those entities that, according to the theory, exist simply in the world. The dynamical structure of a physical theory then is made up by all those parameters that are introduced through their function for the evolution of those entities that constitute the primitive ontology. Note that this notion of a primitive ontology is much wider than the sense in which this term is used in the debate about the foundations of quantum mechanics (see Dürr et al. 2013Dürr et al. , p. 29 (first published 1992, and Allori et al. 2008): a primitive ontology in this wide sense does not necessarily have to consist in entities that are localized in threedimensional space or four-dimensional space-time (and what about space or space-time A proposal for a minimalist ontology 2 themselves?). Nonetheless, the paradigmatic example of a primitive ontology is this one: according t...

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Section: Minimalist Ontology and Physical Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

A proposal for a minimalist ontology

Esfeld

2017

Synthese

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“…First, there is the Dirac sea pilot-wave model (Colin and Struyve 2007;Deckert et al forthcoming), which postulates a large (but finite, due to a high-momentum cut-off) number of fermions occupying negative energy states. Second, according to the Bohmian QFT proposed by Dürr et al (2004), particle creations and annihilations are viewed as actual processes in space and time.…”

Section: Shapes Vs Dynamics As the Vehicle For Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assessing physical salience in that manner obviously provides a way of distinguishing local beables from all kinds of bizarre structures that could in principle 6 Colin and Struyve (2007) argue that on a coarse-grained level, their model allows for a distinction between macroscopic states of sufficiently distinct fermion density (they give the example of a spherical region filled with either graphite or air, and they calculate that the distinction succeeds if the radius b of the region satisfies b 2.6 × 10 −6 m). But surely any satisfactory account of macroscopic bodies should also work for objects surrounded by matter of similar density, for example fish in water.…”

Section: Underdetermination Of (Physically Salient) Derivative Ontolomentioning

confidence: 99%

The physical salience of non-fundamental local beables

Egg

2017

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in

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I defend the idea that objects and events in three-dimensional space (so-called local beables) are part of the derivative ontology of quantum mechanics, rather than its fundamental ontology. The main objection to this idea stems from the question of how it can endow local beables with physical salience, as opposed to mere mathematical definability. I show that the responses to this objection in the previous literature are insufficient, and I provide the necessary arguments to render them successful. This includes demonstrating the legitimacy of dynamical considerations in the derivation of local beables and responding to the threat stemming from the availability of different sets of local beables in the context of the GRW theory.

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“…For instance, recent developments in de Broglie-Bohm theory have included various proposals for describing at least large portions of the standard model of particle theory (see e.g. Colin and Struyve 2007, Dürr et al 2005, Struywe and Westman 2007, and the review in Struyve 2011). Critics, however, argue that the configuration variables in these models (which are guided by the relevant wavefunctional) are not necessarily decohering variables (Wallace 2008).…”

Section: The Measurement Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement and Classical Regime in Quantum Mechanics

Bacciagaluppi¹

2013

Oxford Handbooks Online

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In this article, I shall focus on two of the main problems raising interpretational issues in quantum mechanics, namely the notorious measurement problem (discussed together with the theory of measurement in section 4) and the equally important but not quite as widely discussed problem of the classical regime (discussed together with decoherence in section 3). The two problems are distinct, but they are both intimately related to some of the issues arising from entanglement and density operators, which are thus briefly reviewed in section 2. A few fundamentals are rehearsed in section 1. The article will aim to be fairly non-technical in language, but modern in outlook and covering the chosen topics in more depth than most introductory treatments.The philosophy and foundations of quantum mechanics offer many more examples of live research issues, and much progress has been achieved recently in such traditional approaches as collapse theories, pilot-wave theories and Everett interpretations, and in the (time-honoured but recently revived) area of axiomatic reconstructions of the theory. Recent years have

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A Dirac sea pilot-wave model for quantum field theory

Cited by 103 publications

References 51 publications

A proposal for a minimalist ontology

A proposal for a minimalist ontology

The physical salience of non-fundamental local beables

Measurement and Classical Regime in Quantum Mechanics

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