Beables for Quantum Electrodynamics

We show that it is possible to obtain a realistic and deterministic model, based on a previous work of John Bell, which reproduces the experimental predictions of the orthodox interpretation of quantum electrodynamics.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the Peyresq conference on electromagnetism (September 2002). Annales de la Fondation de Brogli

The continuum limit of the Bell model

In a paper entitled Beables for Quantum Field Theory, John Bell has shown that it was possible to build a realistic interpretation of any hamiltonian lattice quantum field theory involving Fermi fields. His model is stochastic but Bell thought that it would become deterministic in the continuum limit. We show that it is indeed the case, under an assumption about the state of the universe, namely that the universe is in a state obtained from the positronic sea (all positron states occupied) by creating a finite number of negative charges. Moreover, the continuum model can be established directly. The physical interpretation is the following: the negative charges are in motion in the positronic sea and their positions are the beables of the Bell model.Comment: 26 page

Long-time relaxation in pilot-wave theory

We initiate the study of relaxation to quantum equilibrium over long timescales in pilot-wave theory. We simulate the time evolution of the coarse-grained H-function Hbar(t) for a two-dimensional harmonic oscillator. For a (periodic) wave function that is a superposition of the first 25 energy states we confirm an approximately exponential decay of Hbar over five periods. For a superposition of only the first four energy states we are able to calculate Hbar(t) over 50 periods. We find that, depending on the set of phases in the initial wave function, Hbar can decay to a large nonequilibrium residue exceeding 10% of its initial value or it can become indistinguishable from zero (the equilibrium value). We show that a large residue in Hbar is caused by a tendency for the trajectories to be confined to sub-regions of configuration space for some wave functions, and that this is less likely to occur for larger numbers of energy states (if the initial phases are chosen randomly). Possible cosmological implications are briefly discussed.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures. Significant improvements in v2; new section on confinement of trajectories. Accepted by J. Phys. A: Math. Theo