Does quantum mechanics accept a stochastic support?

Arguments are given in favor of a stochastic theory of quantum mechanics, clearly distinguishable from Brownian motion theory. A brief exposition of the phenomenological theory of stochastic quantum mechanics is presented, followed by a list of its main results and perspectives. A possible answer to the question about the origin of stochasticity is given in stochastic electrodynamics by assigning a real character to the vacuum radiation field. This theory is shown to reproduce important quantum mechanical results, some of which are presented explicitly to illustrate its potentialities. Finally the main problems and some perspectives of research within stochastic electrodynamics are discussed.     

Information in asset pricing: a wave function approach

This paper introduces a quantum‐like wave function as an information wave function. We show how the option pricing partial differential equation can be re‐written when we account for such information wave function. We use two stochastic differential equations, one of which relates to Nelson's hypothesis of Universal Brownian motion. We also provide for two examples which further highlight the proposed theory.     

Stochastic differential equations in quantum statistical mechanics. Observables and multiple wiener integrals

The physical and mathematical framework for quantum mechanical stochastic differential equations is discussed as the quantization ofc-number equations that typically describe Brownian motion in polynomial potentials.     

Stochastic Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation

The example of Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equations with a random time-dependent force (stochastic Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equations) is used to show that the theory of Brownian particle motion can be applied to the theory of the stochastic behavior of solitons of model hydrodynamic equations which are completely integrable in the absence of forces and interrelated by the generalized Galilean transformation. The Brownian motion of two-dimensional algebraic solitons of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equations with positive dispersion leads to their diffusion broadening similar to the broadening of one-dimensional solitons of other fully integrable hydrodynamic equations. However, for longer times the rate of decay of algebraic solitons is higher because of the degeneracy of the momentum integral for these solitons. The behavior of a periodic chain of algebraic solitons is established under the action of a random force. Tilted plane solitons of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equations with negative dispersion vary under the action of a random force similar to the solitons of the Korteweg-de Vries equation. Several of these solitons interact via “virtual solitons” and generate new solitons provided that resonance conditions are satisfied whose dimensions increase as a result of the influence of the random force.     

On the theory of Brownian motion with the Alder-Wainwright effect

The Stokes-Boussinesq-Langevin equation, which describes the time evolution of Brownian motion with the Alder-Wainwright effect, can be treated in the framework of the theory of KMO-Langevin equations which describe the time evolution of a real, stationary Gaussian process withT-positivity (reflection positivity) originating in axiomatic quantum field theory. After proving the fluctuation-dissipation theorems for KMO-Langevin equations, we obtain an explicit formula for the deviation from the classical Einstein relation that occurs in the Stokes-Boussinesq-Langevin equation with a white noise as its random force. We are interested in whether or not it can be measured experimentally.     

Nonlinear Theory of Quantum Brownian Motion

A nonlinear theory of quantum Brownian motion in classical environment is developed based on a thermodynamically enhanced nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The latter is transformed via the Madelung transformation into a nonlinear quantum Smoluchowski-like equation, which is proven to reproduce key results from the quantum and classical physics. The application of the theory to a free quantum Brownian particle results in a nonlinear dependence of the position dispersion on time, being quantum generalization of the Einstein law of Brownian motion. It is shown that the time of decoherence from quantum to classical diffusion is proportional to the square of the thermal de Broglie wavelength divided by the classical Einstein diffusion constant.     

Quantum cybernetics: a new perspective for Nelson's stochastic theory,nonlocality, and the Klein–Gordon equation

The Klein–Gordon equation is shown to be equivalent to coupled partial differential equations for a sub-quantum Brownian movement of a “particle”, which is both passively affected by, and actively affecting, a diffusion process of its generally nonlocal environment. This indicates circularly causal, or “cybernetic”, relationships between “particles” and their surroundings. Moreover, in the relativistic domain, the original stochastic theory of Nelson is shown to hold as a limiting case only, i.e., for a vanishing quantum potential.     

A cinematic study of quantum kinematics

Within the framework of stochastic quantization, quantum mechanical trajectory of a particle is computed numerically. The fundamental kinematic equation is a stochastic differential equation which can be intergrated numerically by means of pseudo random numbers. Three typical examples in quantum mechanics, the superposition, the classical limit, and the two-slit interference, are considered in detail. The computer output of the numerical analysis of these examples is shown in a grapic display. Several samples of the quantum mechanical trajectories are illustrated there from which intuitive meaning of quantum phenomena appearing in the examples can be seen easily.     

Nonlinear relaxation and fluctuations of damped quantum systems

The paper reexamines the treatment of irreversible quantum systems by master equations. Shortcomings of the conventional theory of quantum Markov processes pointed out by Talkner are analyzed. It is shown that a frequently used quantum regression hypothesis is not correct, in general. A new generalized master equation determining the relaxation to equilibrium is derived by means of time-dependent projection operator techniques. It is shown that this master equation also determines the time evolution of equilibrium correlations and response functions. The Markovian approximation is discussed, and a new type of Markovian limit, the Brownian motion limit, is introduced besides the weak coupling limit. The shortcomings of the conventional approach are resolved by deriving new formulae for the time evolution of the correlation and response functions of a quantum Markov process. The symmetries of the process are emphasized, and it is shown how the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and the detailed balance symmetry emerge from the master equation approach.     

On the quantum-mechanical Fokker-Planck and Kramers-Chandrasekhar equation

In the classical theory of Brownian motion we can consider the Langevin equation as an infinitesimal transformation between the coordinates and momenta of a Brownian particle, given probabilistically, since the impulse appearing is characterized by a Gaussian random process. This probabilistic infinitesimal transformation generates a streaming on the distribution function, expressed by the classical Fokker-Planck and Kramers-Chandrasekhar equations. If the laws obeyed by the Brownian particle are quantum mechanical, we can reinterpret the Langevin equation as an operator relation expressing an infinitesimal transformation of these operators. Since the impulses are independent of the coordinates and momenta we can think of them as c numbers described by a Gaussian random process. The so resulting infinitesimal operator transformation induces a streaming on the density matrix. We may associate, according to Weyl functions with operators. The function associated with the density matrix is the Wigner function. Expressing, then, these operator relations in terms of these functions we can express the streaming as a continuity equation of the Wigner function. We find that in this parametrization the extra terms which appear are the same as in the classical theory, augmenting the usual Wigner equation.     

Fractal behavior in quantum statistical physics

The properties of an ideal gas of spinless particles are investigated by using the path integral formalism. It is shown that the quantum paths exhibit a fractal character which remains unchanged in the relativistic domain provided the creation of new particles is avoided, and the Brownian motion remains the stochastic process associated with the quantum paths. These results are obtained by using a special representation of the Klein-Gordon wave equation. On the quantum paths the relation between velocity and momentum is not the usual one. The mean square value of the velocity depends on the time needed to define the velocity and its value shows the interplay between pure quantum effects and thermodynamics. The fractal character is also investigated starting from wave equations by analyzing the evolution of a Gaussian wave packet via the Hausdorff dimension. Both approaches give the same fractal character in the same limit. It is shown that the time that appears in the path integral behaves like an ordinary time, and the key quantity is the time interval needed for the thermostat to give to the particles a thermal action equal to the quantum of action. Thus, the partition function calculated via the path integral formalism also describes the dynamics of the system for short time intervals. For low temperatures, it is shown that a time-energy uncertainty relation is verified at the end of the calculations. The energy involved in this relation has not a thermodynamic meaning but results from the fact that the particles do not follow the equations of motion along the paths. The results suggest that the density matrix obtained by quantification of the classical canonical distribution function via the path integral formalism should not be totally identical to that obtained via the usual route.     

Foundations of quantum mechanics: The Langevin equations for QM

Stochastic derivations of the Schrödinger equation are always developed on very general and abstract grounds. Thus, one is never enlightened which specific stochastic process corresponds to some particular quantum mechanical system, that is, given the physical system—expressed by the potential function, which fluctuation structure one should impose on a Langevin equation in order to arrive at results identical to those comming from the solutions of the Schrödinger equation. We show, from first principles, how to write the Langevin stochastic equations for any particular quantum system. We also show the relation between these Langevin equations and those proposed by Bohm in 1952. We present numerical simulations of the Langevin equations for some quantum mechanical problems and compare them with the usual analytic solutions to show the adequacy of our approach. The model also allows us to address important topics on the interpretation of quantum mechanics.     

The dynamical-quantization approach to open quantum systems

The dynamical-quantization approach to open quantum systems does consist in quantizing the Brownian motion starting directly from its stochastic dynamics under the framework of both Langevin and Fokker–Planck equations, without alluding to any model Hamiltonian. On the ground of this non-Hamiltonian quantization method, we can derive a non-Markovian Caldeira–Leggett quantum master equation as well as a non-Markovian quantum Smoluchowski equation. The former is solved for the case of a quantum Brownian particle in a gravitational field whilst the latter for a harmonic oscillator. In both physical situations, we come up with the existence of a non-equilibrium thermal quantum force and investigate its classical limit at high temperatures as well as its quantum limit at zero temperature. Further, as a physical application of our quantum Smoluchowski equation, we take up the tunneling phenomenon of a non-inertial quantum Brownian particle over a potential barrier. Lastly, we wish to point out, corroborating conclusions reached in our previous paper [A. O. Bolivar, Ann. Phys. 326 (2011) 1354], that the theoretical predictions in the present article uphold the view that our non-Hamiltonian quantum mechanics is able to capture novel features inherent in quantum Brownian motion, thereby overcoming shortcomings underlying the Caldeira–Leggett Hamiltonian model.