49 research outputs found
The Attractor and the Quantum States
The dissipative dynamics anticipated in the proof of 't Hooft's existence
theorem -- "For any quantum system there exists at least one deterministic
model that reproduces all its dynamics after prequantization" -- is constructed
here explicitly. We propose a generalization of Liouville's classical phase
space equation, incorporating dissipation and diffusion, and demonstrate that
it describes the emergence of quantum states and their dynamics in the
Schroedinger picture. Asymptotically, there is a stable ground state and two
decoupled sets of degrees of freedom, which transform into each other under the
energy-parity symmetry of Kaplan and Sundrum. They recover the familiar Hilbert
space and its dual. Expectations of observables are shown to agree with the
Born rule, which is not imposed a priori. This attractor mechanism is
applicable in the presence of interactions, to few-body or field theories in
particular.Comment: 14 pages; based on invited talk at 4th Workshop ad memoriam of Carlo
Novero "Advances in Foundations of Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Information
with Atoms and Photons", Torino, May 2008; submitted to Int J Qu Inf
Is there a relativistic nonlinear generalization of quantum mechanics?
Yes, there is. - A new kind of gauge theory is introduced, where the minimal
coupling and corresponding covariant derivatives are defined in the space of
functions pertaining to the functional Schroedinger picture of a given field
theory. While, for simplicity, we study the example of an U(1) symmetry, this
kind of gauge theory can accommodate other symmetries as well. We consider the
resulting relativistic nonlinear extension of quantum mechanics and show that
it incorporates gravity in the (0+1)-dimensional limit, where it leads to the
Schroedinger-Newton equations. Gravity is encoded here into a universal
nonlinear extension of quantum theory. The probabilistic interpretation, i.e.
Born's rule, holds provided the underlying model has only dimensionless
parameters.Comment: 10 pages; talk at DICE 2006 (Piombino, September 11-15, 2006); to
appear in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (2007
Does quantum mechanics tell an atomistic spacetime?
The canonical answer to the question posed is "Yes." -- tacitly assuming that
quantum theory and the concept of spacetime are to be unified by `quantizing' a
theory of gravitation. Yet, instead, one may ponder: Could quantum mechanics
arise as a coarse-grained reflection of the atomistic nature of spacetime? --
We speculate that this may indeed be the case. We recall the similarity between
evolution of classical and quantum mechanical ensembles, according to Liouville
and von Neumann equation, respectively. The classical and quantum mechanical
equations are indistinguishable for objects which are free or subject to
spatially constant but possibly time dependent, or harmonic forces, if
represented appropriately. This result suggests a way to incorporate anharmonic
interactions, including fluctuations which are tentatively related to the
underlying discreteness of spacetime. Being linear and local at the quantum
mechanical level, the model offers a decoherence and natural localization
mechanism. However, the relation to primordial deterministic degrees of freedom
is nonlocal.Comment: Based on invited talks at Fourth International Workshop DICE2008,
held at Castello Pasquini / Castiglioncello, Italy, 22-26 September 2008 and
at DISCRETE'08 - Symposium on Prospects in the Physics of Discrete
Symmetries, held at IFIC, Valencia, Spain, 11-16 December 2008 - to appear in
respective volumes of Journal of Physics: Conference Serie
Deterministic models of quantum fields
Deterministic dynamical models are discussed which can be described in
quantum mechanical terms. -- In particular, a local quantum field theory is
presented which is a supersymmetric classical model. The Hilbert space approach
of Koopman and von Neumann is used to study the classical evolution of an
ensemble of such systems. Its Liouville operator is decomposed into two
contributions, with positive and negative spectrum, respectively. The unstable
negative part is eliminated by a constraint on physical states, which is
invariant under the Hamiltonian flow. Thus, choosing suitable variables, the
classical Liouville equation becomes a functional Schroedinger equation of a
genuine quantum field theory. -- We briefly mention an U(1) gauge theory with
``varying alpha'' or dilaton coupling where a corresponding quantized theory
emerges in the phase space approach. It is energy-parity symmetric and,
therefore, a prototype of a model in which the cosmological constant is
protected by a symmetry.Comment: 6 pages; synopsis of hep-th/0510267, hep-th/0503069, hep-th/0411176 .
Talk at Constrained Dynamics and Quantum Gravity - QG05, Cala Gonone
(Sardinia, Italy), September 12-16, 2005. To appear in the proceeding
Quantum fields, cosmological constant and symmetry doubling
Energy-parity has been introduced by Kaplan and Sundrum as a protective
symmetry that suppresses matter contributions to the cosmological constant
[KS05]. It is shown here that this symmetry, schematically Energy --> - Energy,
arises in the Hilbert space representation of the classical phase space
dynamics of matter. Consistently with energy-parity and gauge symmetry, we
generalize the Liouville operator and allow a varying gauge coupling, as in
"varying alpha" or dilaton models. In this model, classical matter fields can
dynamically turn into quantum fields (Schroedinger picture), accompanied by a
gauge symmetry change -- presently, U(1) --> U(1) x U(1). The transition
between classical ensemble theory and quantum field theory is governed by the
varying coupling, in terms of a one-parameter deformation of either limit.
These corrections introduce diffusion and dissipation, leading to decoherence.Comment: Replaced by published version, no change in contents - Int. J. Theor.
Phys. (2007
The Functional Derivation of Master Equations
Master equations describe the quantum dynamics of open systems interacting
with an environment. They play an increasingly important role in understanding
the emergence of semiclassical behavior and the generation of entropy, both
being related to quantum decoherence. Presently we derive the exact master
equation for a homogeneous scalar Higgs or inflaton like field coupled to an
environment field represented by an infinite set of harmonic oscillators. Our
aim is to demonstrate a derivation directly from the path integral
representation of the density matrix propagator. Applications and
generalizations of this result are discussed.Comment: 10 pages; LaTex. - Contribution to the workshop Hadron Physics VI,
March 1998, Florianopolis (Brazil); proceedings, E. Ferreira et al., eds.
(World Scientific). Replaced by slightly modified published versio
Semiquantum Chaos in the Double-Well
The new phenomenon of semiquantum chaos is analyzed in a classically regular
double-well oscillator model. Here it arises from a doubling of the number of
effectively classical degrees of freedom, which are nonlinearly coupled in a
Gaussian variational approximation (TDHF) to full quantum mechanics. The
resulting first-order nondissipative autonomous flow system shows energy
dependent transitions between regular behavior and semiquantum chaos, which we
monitor by Poincar\'e sections and a suitable frequency correlation function
related to the density matrix. We discuss the general importance of this new
form of deterministic chaos and point out the necessity to study open
(dissipative) quantum systems, in order to observe it experimentally.Comment: LaTeX, 25 pages plus 7 postscript figures. Replaced figure 3 with a
non-bitmapped versio
Collective Modes in Neutrino `Beam' Electron-Positron Plasma Interactions
We derive semiclassical neutrino-electron transport equations in the
collisionless (Vlasov) limit from the coupled Dirac equations, incorporating
the charged and neutral weak current-current as well as electromagnetic
interactions. A corresponding linear response theory is derived. In particular,
we calculate the response functions for a variety of beam-plasma geometries,
which are of interest in a supernova scenario. We apply this to the study of
plasmons and to a new class of collective {\it pharon} resonance modes, which
are characterized by . We find that the growth rates of the
unstable modes correspond to a strongly temperature ()
and linearly momentum dependent e-folding length of about km under
typical conditions for Type II supernovae. This appears to rule out such
long-wavelength collective modes as an efficient means of depositing neutrino
energy into the plasma sphere.Comment: 27 pages; LaTex. Replaced by published version. - Appendix about
neutrino Wigner functions added and main text correspondingly revised.
Conclusions unchange
Fragmentation of exotic oxygen isotopes
Abrasion-ablation models and the empirical EPAX parametrization of projectile fragmentation are described. Their cross section predictions are compared to recent data of the fragmentation of secondary beams of neutron-rich, unstable 19,20,21O isotopes at beam energies near 600 MeV/nucleon as well as data for stable 17,18O beams