Epistemic Primacy vs. Ontological Elusiveness of Spatial Extension: Is There an Evolutionary Role for the Quantum?

Pauri, Massimo

doi:10.1007/s10701-011-9581-0

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…This classical action is the main tool for determining the phases inside the atom interferometer and for generating the classical trajectories that, in presence of Newtonian gravity, allow for instance to perform measures of g and test the universality of free fall. 10 .…”

Section: A Effective Particles In the Arms Of Atom Interferometers Fr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the transition from the quantum to the classical regime for massive scalar particles: A spatiotemporal approach

Lusanna

Pauri

2014

Eur. Phys. J. Plus

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If the classical structure of space-time is assumed to define an a-priori scenario for the formulation of the structure of quantum theory (QT), the coordinate representation of the solutions ψ( x, t) (ψ( x 1 , .., x N , t)) of the Schroedinger equation of a quantum system containing one (N ) massive scalar particle has a preferred status. It is then possible to perform a multipolar expansion of the density matrix ρ( x, t) = |ψ( x, t)| 2 (and more generally of the Wigner function) around a space-time trajectory x c (t) to be properly selected. A special set of solutions ψ EM W F ( x, t), named Ehrenfest monopole wave functions(EMWF), is characterized by the conditions that: (i) the quantum expectation value of the position operator coincides at any time with the searched classical trajectory, < ψ EM W F |ˆ x|ψ EM W F >= x c (t), and, (ii) Ehrenfest's theorem holds for the expectation values of the position and momentum operators. The first condition implies the vanishing of the 'dipole' term in the multipolar expansion of the density matrix with respect to such trajectory. Ehrenfest's theorem applied to EMWF leads then to a closed Newton equation of motion for the classical trajectory, where the effective force is the Newton force plus non-Newtonian terms (of order 2 or higher) depending on the higher multipoles of the probability distribution ρ. Note that the super-position of two EMWFs is not an EMWF, a result to be strongly hoped for, given the possible unwanted implications concerning classical spatial perception. These results can be extended to N particle systems and to relativistic quantum mechanics.Consequently, for the states of a quantum particle which are EMWF, we get the emergence of a corresponding classical 'effective' particle following a Newton-like trajectory in space-time.Note that this holds true in the standard framework of quantum mechanics, i.e. by assuming the validity of Born's rule and the individual system interpretation of the wave function (no ensemble interpretation). These results are valid without any approximation (like → 0, big quantum numbers,...). Moreover, we do not commit ourselves to any ontological interpretation of quantum theory (such as, e.g., the Bohmian one. It will be clear that our trajectories are not Bohm's trajectories). We will argue that, in substantial agreement with Bohr's viewpoint, the macroscopic description of the preparation, certain intermediate steps and the detection of the final outcome of experiments involving massive particles are dominated by these 'classical effective trajectories'.This approach can be applied to the point of view of de-coherence (in which positions turn out to be selected preferred robust bases) in the case of a diagonal reduced density matrix ρ red (an improper mixture) depending on the position variables of a massive particle and of a pointer. When both the particle and the pointer wave functions appearing in ρ red are EMWF, the expectation value of the particle and pointer position variables becomes a statistical average on a cl...

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Section: A Effective Particles In the Arms Of Atom Interferometers Fr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Ref. [10] a heterodox proposal is advanced concerning the unavoidable epistemic primacy of this spatiotemporal intuition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the transition from the quantum to the classical regime for massive scalar particles: A spatiotemporal approach

Lusanna

Pauri

2014

Eur. Phys. J. Plus

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“…We hope our effort in this paper will add further impetus to put vigorous efforts in devel-oping unified field theories in many new ways by questioning the foundational hypotheses of the current working theories [8,9,[12][13][14]. Accordingly, we have put efforts to differentiate between epistemic and ontologic thinking [13,15] by tracing back to our evolutionary successes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Next Frontier in Physics—Space as a Complex Tension Field

Roychoudhuri¹

2012

JMP

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We hypothesize that 100% of the energy of our cosmic system is held by a physically real Complex Tension Field (CTF). We are using an old methodology of thinking used by our forefather engineers long before the advent of modern scientific thinking. We call it Interaction Process Mapping Epistemology or IPM-E. We apply this IPM-E on to the prevailing Measurable Data Modeling Epistemology or MDM-E. This approach helped us analyze the "Measurement Problem", recognized during the rise of quantum mechanics (QM), and helped us recover a universal property of all linear waves, that they do not interact, or interfere, with each other. This Non-Interaction of Waves, or the NIW-property, should be obvious through daily observations and through the Huygens-Fresnel diffraction integral and through critical evaluation of contradictory hypotheses we have been assigning to photons through ages. This implicates that the time-frequency Fourier theorem, although mathematically correct, and is used universally in all branches of science; does not map the real physical interaction processes for most optical phenomena. Accordingly, we present the necessary modifications for a few selected phenomena in classical and quantum optics to validate the NIW-property. In the process we find that accepting photons as non-interacting, but diffractively propagating linear wave packets crossing the entire cosmic space, requires CTF as a physical medium. Then we develop logical arguments in support of stable elementary particles as nonlinear but resonant vortex-like undulations of this same CTF. These vortex-like particles impose various secondary potential gradients around themselves giving rise to the four forces we know. Thus, CTF can serve as the cosmic substrate to develop a unified field theory without the need of dark matter and dark energy. In the process, we demonstrate a path to add ontologic thinking on our biologically successful epistemic thinking.

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Epistemic Primacy vs. Ontological Elusiveness of Spatial Extension: Is There an Evolutionary Role for the Quantum?

Cited by 2 publications

References 31 publications

On the transition from the quantum to the classical regime for massive scalar particles: A spatiotemporal approach

On the transition from the quantum to the classical regime for massive scalar particles: A spatiotemporal approach

Next Frontier in Physics—Space as a Complex Tension Field

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