On the Role of Density Matrices in Bohmian Mechanics

It is well known that density matrices can be used in quantum mechanics to represent the information available to an observer about either a system with a random wave function (statistical mixture) or a system that is entangled with another system (reduced density matrix). We point out another role, previously unnoticed in the literature, that a density matrix can play: it can be the conditional density matrix, conditional on the configuration of the environment. A precise definition can be given in the context of Bohmian mechanics, whereas orthodox quantum mechanics is too vague to allow a sharp definition, except perhaps in special cases. In contrast to statistical and reduced density matrices, forming the conditional density matrix involves no averaging. In Bohmian mechanics with spin, the conditional density matrix replaces the notion of conditional wave function, as the object with the same dynamical significance as the wave function of a Bohmian system.PACS number:03.65.Ta (foundations of quantum mechanics)     

Dissipative Bohmian mechanics within the Caldirola–Kanai framework: A trajectory analysis of wave-packet dynamics in viscid media

Classical viscid media are quite common in our everyday life. However, we are not used to find such media in quantum mechanics, and much less to analyze their effects on the dynamics of quantum systems. In this regard, the Caldirola–Kanai time-dependent Hamiltonian constitutes an appealing model, accounting for friction without including environmental fluctuations (as it happens, for example, with quantum Brownian motion). Here, a Bohmian analysis of the associated friction dynamics is provided in order to understand how a hypothetical, purely quantum viscid medium would act on a wave packet from a (quantum) hydrodynamic viewpoint. To this purpose, a series of paradigmatic contexts have been chosen, such as the free particle, the motion under the action of a linear potential, the harmonic oscillator, or the superposition of two coherent wave packets. Apart from their analyticity, these examples illustrate interesting emerging behaviors, such as localization by “quantum freezing” or a particular type of quantum–classical correspondence. The reliability of the results analytically determined has been checked by means of numerical simulations, which has served to investigate other problems lacking of such analyticity (e.g., the coherent superpositions).     

Quantization in classical mechanics and its relation to the Bohmian Ψ-field

Based on the Chetaev theorem on stable dynamical trajectories in the presence of dissipative forces, we obtain the generalized condition for stability of Hamilton systems in the form of the Schrödinger equation.It is shown that the energy of dissipative forces, which generate the Chetaev generalized condition of stability, coincides exactly with the Bohm “quantum” potential. Within the frame-work of Bohmian quantum mechanics supplemented by the generalized Chetaev theorem and on the basis of the principle of least action for dissipative forces, we show that the squared amplitude of a wave function in the Schrödinger equation is equivalent semantically and syntactically to the probability density function for the number of particle trajectories, relative to which the velocity and the position of the particle are not hidden parameters. The conditions for the correctness of trajectory interpretation of quantum mechanics are discussed.     

Quantum equilibrium and the origin of absolute uncertainty

The quantum formalism is a measurement formalism-a phenomenological formalism describing certain macroscopic regularities. We argue that it can be regarded, and best be understood, as arising from Bohmian mechanics, which is what emerges from Schrödinger's equation for a system of particles when we merely insist that particles means particles. While distinctly non-Newtonian, Bohmian mechanics is a fully deterministic theory of particles in motion, a motion choreographed by the wave function. We find that a Bohmian universe, though deterministic, evolves in such a manner that anappearance of randomness emerges, precisely as described by the quantum formalism and given, for example, by = ¦¦ ². A crucial ingredient in our analysis of the origin of this randomness is the notion of the effective wave function of a subsystem, a notion of interest in its own right and of relevance to any discussion of quantum theory. When the quantum formalism is regarded as arising in this way, the paradoxes and perplexities so often associated with (nonrelativistic) quantum theory simply evaporate.This paper is dedicated to the memory of J. S. Bell.     

On Peres' Statement “Opposite Momenta Lead to Opposite Directions,” Decaying Systems and Optical Imaging

We re-examine Peres' statement opposite momenta lead to opposite directions. It will be shown that Peres' statement is only valid in the large distance or large time limit. In the short distance or short time limit an additional deviation from perfect alignment occurs due to the uncertainty of the location of the source. This error contribution plays a major role in Popper's orginal experimental proposal. Peres' statement applies rather to the phenomenon of optical imaging, which was regarded by him as a verification of his statement. This is because this experiment can in a certain sense be seen as occurring in the large distance limit. We will also reconsider both experiments from the viewpoint of Bohmian mechanics. In Bohmian mechanics particles with perfectly opposite momenta will move in opposite directions. In addition it will prove particularly useful to use Bohmian mechanics because the Bohmian trajectories coincide with the conceptual trajectories drawn by Pittman et al. In this way Bohmian mechanics provides a theoretical basis for these conceptual trajectories.     

Weak Measurements from the Point of View of Bohmian Mechanics

The theory of weak measurements developed by Aharonov and coworkers has been applied by them and others to several interesting problems in which the system of interest is both pre- and post-selected. When the probability of successful post-selection is very small the prediction for the weak value of the measured quantity is often bizarre and sometimes controversial, lying outside the range of possibility for a classical system or for a quantum system in the absence of post-selection (e.g. negative kinetic energies associated with particles found immediately after the weak measurement deep inside a classically forbidden region). In Bohmian mechanics a quantum particle is postulated to be a point-like particle which is always accompanied by a wave which probes its environment and guides its motion accordingly. Hence, from the point of view of this theory, it is natural to ask whether the measured weak value under consideration is a property of the point-like particle or of the wave (or of both) and what, if anything, it is that is actually being measured. In this paper, weak measurements of position, momentum and kinetic energy are considered for very simple case studies with these questions in mind.     

Convergence characteristics of a domain decomposition scheme for approximation of quantum forces

We investigate the convergence characteristics of a domain decomposition scheme to approximately compute quantum forces in the context of semiclassical Bohmian mechanics. The study is empirical in nature. Errors in the approximate quantum forces are compiled while relevant parameters in the numerical scheme are systematically changed. The compiled errors are analyzed to extract underlying trends. Our analysis shows that the number of Bohmian particles used in discretization has relatively weak influence on the error, while the length scale of interaction among subdomains controls the error in most cases. More precisely, the overall numerical error decreases as the length scale of interaction among subdomains decreases, if the error due to the truncation of the tail of the probability density distribution is adequately controlled. Our results suggest that it may be necessary to develop an efficient method to effectively control the error due to the truncation of the tail. Further studies, especially rigorous mathematical ones, should follow to understand and improve the behavior of the scheme.     

Relativistic Quantum Mechanics and the Bohmian Interpretation

No Heading Conventional relativistic quantum mechanics, based on the Klein-Gordon equation, does not possess a natural probabilistic interpretation in configuration space. The Bohmian interpretation, in which probabilities play a secondary role, provides a viable interpretation of relativistic quantum mechanics. We formulate the Bohmian interpretation of many-particle wave functions in a Lorentz-covariant way. In contrast with the nonrelativistic case, the relativistic Bohmian interpretation may lead to measurable predictions on particle positions even when the conventional interpretation does not lead to such predictions.     

On the conformally coupled scalar field quantum cosmology

We propose a new initial condition for the homogeneous and isotropic quantum cosmology, where the source of the gravitational field is a conformally coupled scalar field, and the maximally symmetric hypersurfaces have positive curvature. After solving corresponding Wheeler–DeWitt equation, we obtain exact solutions in both classical and quantum levels. We propose appropriate initial condition for the wave packets which results in a complete classical and quantum correspondence. These wave packets closely follow the classical trajectories and peak on them. We also quantify this correspondence using de Broglie–Bohm interpretation of quantum mechanics. Using this proposal, the quantum potential vanishes along the Bohmian paths and the classical and Bohmian trajectories coincide with each other. We show that the model contains singularities even at the quantum level. Therefore, the resulting wave packets closely follow the classical trajectories from big-bang to big-crunch.     

Modeling quantum mechanical double slit interference via anomalous diffusion: Independently variable slit widths

Based on a re-formulation of the classical explanation of quantum mechanical Gaussian dispersion (Grössing et al. (2010) [1]) as well as interference of two Gaussians (Grössing et al. (2012) [6]), we present a new and more practical way of their simulation. The quantum mechanical “decay of the wave packet” can be described by anomalous sub-quantum diffusion with a specific diffusivity varying in time due to a particle’s changing thermal environment. In a simulation of the double-slit experiment with different slit widths, the phase with this new approach can be implemented as a local quantity. We describe the conditions of the diffusivity and, by connecting to wave mechanics, we compute the exact quantum mechanical intensity distributions, as well as the corresponding trajectory distributions according to the velocity field of two Gaussian wave packets emerging from a double-slit. We also calculate probability density current distributions, including situations where phase shifters affect a single slit’s current, and provide computer simulations thereof.     

Bohmian trajectories of Airy packets

The discovery of Berry and Balazs in 1979 that the free-particle Schrödinger equation allows a non-dispersive and accelerating Airy-packet solution has taken the folklore of quantum mechanics by surprise. Over the years, this intriguing class of wave packets has sparked enormous theoretical and experimental activities in related areas of optics and atom physics. Within the Bohmian mechanics framework, we present new features of Airy wave packet solutions to Schrödinger equation with time-dependent quadratic potentials. In particular, we provide some insights to the problem by calculating the corresponding Bohmian trajectories. It is shown that by using general space–time transformations, these trajectories can display a unique variety of cases depending upon the initial position of the individual particle in the Airy wave packet. Further, we report here a myriad of nontrivial Bohmian trajectories associated to the Airy wave packet. These new features are worth introducing to the subject’s theoretical folklore in light of the fact that the evolution of a quantum mechanical Airy wave packet governed by the Schrödinger equation is analogous to the propagation of a finite energy Airy beam satisfying the paraxial equation. Numerous experimental configurations of optics and atom physics have shown that the dynamics of Airy beams depends significantly on initial parameters and configurations of the experimental set-up.     

On the unique mapping relationship between initial and final quantum states

In its standard formulation, quantum mechanics presents a very serious inconvenience: given a quantum system, there is no possibility at all to unambiguously (causally) connect a particular feature of its final state with some specific section of its initial state. This constitutes a practical limitation, for example, in numerical analyses of quantum systems, which often make necessary the use of some extra assistance from classical methodologies. Here it is shown how the Bohmian formulation of quantum mechanics removes the ambiguity of quantum mechanics, providing a consistent and clear answer to such a question without abandoning the quantum framework. More specifically, this formulation allows to define probability tubes, along which the enclosed probability keeps constant in time all the way through as the system evolves in configuration space. These tubes have the interesting property that once their boundary is defined at a given time, they are uniquely defined at any time. As a consequence, it is possible to determine final restricted (or partial) probabilities directly from localized sets of (Bohmian) initial conditions on the system initial state. Here, these facts are illustrated by means of two simple yet physically insightful numerical examples: tunneling transmission and grating diffraction.     

Quantum trajectories and the Bohm time constant

This work proposes a new logarithmic nonlinear Schrödinger equation to describe the dynamics of a wave packet under continuous measurement. Via the method of quantum trajectories formalism of the Bohmian model of quantum mechanics, it is shown that this continuous measurement alters the dynamical properties of the measured system. While the width of the wave packet may reach a stationary regime, its quantum trajectories converge asymptotically in time to classical trajectories. So, continuous measurements not only disturb the particle but compel it to eventually converge to a Newtonian regime. The rate of convergence depends on what is defined here as the Bohm time constant which characterizes the resolution time of the measurement. If the initial wave packet width is taken to be equal to 2.8×10⁻¹⁵ m (the approximate size of an electron) then the Bohm time constant is found to be about 6.8×10⁻²⁶ s.     

Bohmian mechanics at space–time singularities: II. Spacelike singularities

We develop an extension of Bohmian mechanics by defining Bohm-like trajectories for quantum particles in a curved background space–time containing a spacelike singularity. As an example of such a metric we use the Schwarzschild metric, which contains two spacelike singularities, one in the past and one in the future. Since the particle world lines are everywhere timelike or lightlike, particles can be annihilated but not created at a future spacelike singularity, and created but not annihilated at a past spacelike singularity. It is argued that in the presence of future (past) spacelike singularities, there is a unique natural Bohm-like evolution law directed to the future (past). This law differs from the one in non-singular space–times mainly in two ways: it involves Fock space since the particle number is not conserved, and the wave function is replaced by a density matrix. In particular, we determine the evolution equation for the density matrix, a pure-to-mixed evolution equation of a quasi-Lindblad form. We have to leave open whether a curvature cut-off needs to be introduced for this equation to be well defined.     

Extreme beam attenuation in double-slit experiments: Quantum and subquantum scenarios

Combining high and low probability densities in intensity hybrids  , we study some of their properties in double-slit setups. In particular, we connect to earlier results on beam attenuation techniques in neutron interferometry and study the effects of very small transmission factors, or very low counting rates, respectively, at one of the two slits. We use a “superclassical” modeling procedure which we have previously shown to produce predictions identical with those of standard quantum theory. Although in accordance with the latter, we show that there are previously unexpected new effects in intensity hybrids for transmission factors below a?10⁻⁴$a?10^{-4}$, which can eventually be observed with the aid of weak measurement techniques. We denote these as quantum sweeper effects, which are characterized by the bunching together of low counting rate particles within very narrow spatial domains. We give an explanation of this phenomenology by the circumstance that in reaching down to ever weaker channel intensities, the nonlinear nature of the probability density currents becomes ever more important, a fact which is generally not considered–although implicitly present–in standard quantum mechanics.     

Bohmian Trajectories Post-Decoherence

The role of the environment in producing the correct classical limit in the Bohm interpretation of quantum mechanics is investigated, in the context of a model of quantum Brownian motion. One of the effects of the interaction is to produce a rapid approximate diagonalisation of the reduced density matrix in the position representation. This effect is, by itself, insufficient to produce generically quasi-classical behaviour of the Bohmian trajectory. However, it is shown that, if the system particle is initially in an approximate energy eigenstate, then there is a tendency for the Bohmian trajectory to become approximately classical on a longer time-scale. The relationship between this phenomenon and the behaviour of the Wigner function post-decoherence is discussed.     

A New Way for the Extension of Quantum Theory: Non-Bohmian Quantum Potentials

Quantum Mechanics is a good example of a successful theory. Most of atomic phenomena are described well by quantum mechanics and cases such as Lamb Shift that are not described by quantum mechanics, are described by quantum electrodynamics. Of course, at the nuclear level, because of some complications, it is not clear that we can claim the same confidence. One way of taking these complications and corrections into account seems to be a modification of the standard quantum theory. In this paper and its follow ups we consider a straightforward way of extending quantum theory. Our method is based on a Bohmian approach. We show that this approach has the essential ability for extending quantum theory, and we do this by introducing “non-Bohmian” forms for the quantum potential.     

Perturbation theory in bohmian mechanics

We explore the possibility of formulating a consistent time-dependent perturbation scheme in Bohmian mechanics as a (necessary?) prerequisite to construct a Bohmian radiation theory. Difficulties are outlined and also illustrated numerically. Particular attention is given to the first order perturbation of a one dimensional harmonic oscillator by an electric dipole interaction which allows for an analytic solution for the particle trajectory independently from the details of the unperturbed wave function.