Path integral and transactional interpretation

The concept of transaction, introduced by Cramer in his realistic nonlocal interpretation of quantum mechanics (QM), is herein reformulated in the language of the Feynman graphs' technique.     

Copenhagen quantum mechanics

In our quantum mechanics courses, measurement is usually taught in passing, as an ad-hoc procedure involving the ugly collapse of the wave function. No wonder we search for more satisfying alternatives to the Copenhagen interpretation. But this overlooks the fact that the approach fits very well with modern measurement theory with its notions of the conditioned state and quantum trajectory. In addition, what we know of as the Copenhagen interpretation is a later 1950s development and some of the earlier pioneers like Bohr did not talk of wave function collapse. In fact, if one takes these earlier ideas and mixes them with later insights of decoherence, a much more satisfying version of Copenhagen quantum mechanics emerges, one for which the collapse of the wave function is seen to be a harmless book keeping device. Along the way, we explain why chaotic systems lead to wave functions that spread out quickly on macroscopic scales implying that Schrödinger cat states are the norm rather than curiosities generated in physicists’ laboratories. We then describe how the conditioned state of a quantum system depends crucially on how the system is monitored illustrating this with the example of a decaying atom monitored with a time of arrival photon detector, leading to Bohr’s quantum jumps. On the other hand, other kinds of detection lead to much smoother behaviour, providing yet another example of complementarity. Finally we explain how classical behaviour emerges, including classical mechanics but also thermodynamics.     

Inconsistency of the Copenhagen interpretation

The Bohr-Heisenberg scheme, which forms the basis of any current version of the standard or Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, is shown to be internally inconsistent. Although the inconsistencies demonstrated here are directly relatable to Einstein's opinion that it is unsatisfactory to interpret physical theory solely in terms of the knowledge gained from experimental outcomes, it is nevertheless shown that Einstein's view requires important modification. The implications of the Bohr-Heisenberg schem's self-inconsistency are discussed in relation to Bell's theorem and Aspect's experiments.     

量子力学诠释问题

量子力学的建立不仅奠定了当代科学的基础,而且在推动当代技术革命方面取得了惊人的成功。然而,对于量子力学诠释(interpretation of quantum mechanics)——理解波函数如何刻画微观世界,人们迄今为止并未形成共识。量子力学发展的这种二元状态不仅带来了认识论方面的误导,而且依据备受争议的哥本哈根诠释建立起来的量子技术会有许多根本性问题。
量子力学的哥本哈根诠释存在二元结构的问题：微观世界的运动用量子力学描述,是一个幺正演化,而观察或测量却依赖于量子系统外部的经典世界(仪器、观察者、环境),表现出来的波包塌缩是非幺正的。为此,包括爱因斯坦、薛定谔、温伯格等在内的一些著名学者对哥本哈根诠释提出了尖锐的批评。80年过去了,为克服量子力学的哥本哈根诠释二元论困境,人们提出各种各样的量子力学诠释,包括多世界诠释、量子退相干诠释、自洽历史诠释以及量子达尔文主义等。文章将简要介绍和评述这些量子力学诠释的基本思想、它们之间的逻辑关系及其实验检验的可能性。进一步澄清量子力学诠释中的基本概念,可以避免量子观念滥用导致的意识论上的问题和量子技术发展误入歧途。     

Classical interpretations of relativistic precessions

Relativists have exposed various precessions and developed ingenious experiments to verify those phenomena with extreme precisions. The Gravity Probe B mission was designed to study the precessions of the gyroscopes rotating round the Earth in a nearly circular near-Earth polar orbit to demonstrate the geodetic effect and the Lense-Thirring effect as predicted by the general relativity theory. In this paper, we show in a very simple and novel analysis that the precession of the perihelion of Mercury, the Thomas precession, and the precession data （on the de Sitter and Lense-Thirring precessions） collected from the Gravity Probe B mission could easily be explained from classical physics, too.     

Filtering and frequency interpretations of Singular Spectrum Analysis

New filtering and spectral interpretations of Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) are provided. It is shown that the variables reconstructed from diagonal averaging of reduced-rank approximations to the trajectory matrix can be obtained from a noncausal convolution filter with zero-phase characteristics. The reconstructed variables are readily constructed using a two-pass filtering algorithm that is well known in the signal processing literature. When the number of rows in the trajectory matrix is much larger than number of columns, many results reported in the signal processing literature can be used to derive the properties of the resulting filters and their spectra. New features of the reconstructed series are revealed using these results. Two examples are used to illustrate the results derived in this paper.     

Self-interacting scalar fields with geometrical interpretations

The idea is advanced that particles arise as distortions of a reimannian background and that such distortions represent particular conformally flat solutions of the “cosmological” Einstein equations with extremely large “cosmological” constants. Particle interactions then appear as gravitational in origin. The idea is illustrated with the help of two scalar models. In the first one the “De Sitter” space can be interpreted as a relativistic field whose ground state undergoes a transition from degenerate to nondegenerate for the critical value of some parameter. In the second one a deeper understanding is reached of the role of the “De Sitter” space in confinement problems and of the nature of the ensemble of vacuum states recently introduced in conformally invariant field theories by Fubini.     

Stochastic interpretations of nonrelativistic quantum theory

A critique of the causla and classical stochastic interpretations of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics is presented. The only way that the classical stochastic formulation can be made compatible with the theory of quantum measurement is to extend the probability measure density for fluctuating paths to the complex domain. In doing so, we obtain the generalized stochiastic formulation in which the methods of classical probability theory can be used to describe the quantum mechanical phenomenon of interfering alternatives. Illustrative examples from quantum theory are used to show the complete compatibility between the traditional and generalized stochastic interpretations of quantum mechanics. Work supported in part by a contribution from the CNR.     

An overview of the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics

The transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics (TI) is summarized and various points concerning the TI and its relation to the Copenhagen interpretation (CI) are considered. Questions concerning mapping the TI onto the CI, of advanced waves as solutions to proper wave equations, of collapse and the QM formalism, and of the relation of quantum mechanical interpretations to experimental tests and results are discussed.     

Judgments of voice quality and preference: Acoustic interpretations

Previous studies have shown that trained listeners are highly reliable in making perceptual judgments of several parameters of normal and pathologic voices. This study investigated objective measures of acoustic characteristics of high and low preference voices as determined by previous perceptual study. Four acoustic parameters were measured including harmonics-to-noise ratio, autocorrelation function, average jitter, and the standard deviation of the fundamental frequency. Useful correlations between perceptual and measured results were identified. Normal voices differ from pathologic voices in terms of the acoustic-perceptual relationships.     

Twistor and polytope interpretations for subleading color one-loop amplitudes

We use the relation of the one-loop subleading-color amplitudes to the one-loop n-point leading color amplitudes in N=4 SYM, to derive a polytope interpretation for the former in the MHV case, and a representation in momentum twistor space for the general NkMHV case. These techniques are explored in detail for the 5-point and 6-point amplitudes. We briefly discuss the implications for IR divergences.     

Active galactic nuclei I. Observations and fundamental interpretations

Part I of this review summarizes astronomical observations of active galactic nuclei made in all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. The objects receiving the greatest attention are quasars, radio galaxies, Seyfert galaxies and BL Lacertae objects, although other types of active galaxies are also discussed. Basic models for the powerhouses of these active galaxies are considered, with an emphasis placed on energy production efficiency, compactness and variability. The leading theories, which involve accretion of plasma onto supermassive black holes, are presented, and some of the evidence favoring these models over their rivals is discussed. The second part of this review will discuss the spectra produced by the various models in more detail, along with the production and collimation of jets in active galaxies. Part II will also examine in detail various schemes that purport to explain the variety of active galaxies in a unified fashion.