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The quantum potential or quantum potentiality is a central concept of the de Broglie–Bohm formulation of quantum mechanics, introduced by David Bohm in 1952.
Contents
- Quantum potential as part of the Schrdinger equation
- Continuity equation
- Quantum HamiltonJacobi equation
- Properties
- Relation to the measurement process
- Quantum potential of an n particle system
- Quantum potential in terms of the probability density function
- Quantum force
- Formulation in configuration space and in momentum space as the result of projections
- Relation to the Fisher information
- Relation to the Madelung pressure tensor
- Relation to the von Weizscker correction
- Quantum potential as energy of internal motion associated with spin
- EP quantum mechanics with quantum potential as Schwarzian derivative
- Re interpretation in terms of Clifford algebras
- Quantum potential and relativity
- Quantum potential in quantum field theory
- Interpretation and naming of the quantum potential
- Applications
- References
Initially presented under the name quantum-mechanical potential, subsequently quantum potential, it was later elaborated upon by Bohm and Basil Hiley in its interpretation as an information potential which acts on a quantum particle. It is also referred to as quantum potential energy, Bohm potential, quantum Bohm potential or Bohm quantum potential.
In the framework of the de Broglie–Bohm theory, the quantum potential is a term within the Schrödinger equation which acts to guide the movement of quantum particles. The quantum potential approach introduced by Bohm provides a formally more complete exposition of the idea presented by Louis de Broglie: de Broglie had postulated in 1926 that the wave function represents a pilot wave which guides a quantum particle, but had subsequently abandoned his approach due to objections raised by Wolfgang Pauli. The seminal articles of Bohm in 1952 introduced the quantum potential and included answers to the objections which had been raised against the pilot wave theory.
The Bohm quantum potential is closely linked with the results of other approaches, in particular relating to work by Erwin Madelung of 1927 and to work by Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker of 1935.
Building on the interpretation of the quantum theory introduced by Bohm in 1952, David Bohm and Basil Hiley in 1975 presented how the concept of a quantum potential leads to the notion of an "unbroken wholeness of the entire universe", proposing that the fundamental new quality introduced by quantum physics is nonlocality.
Quantum potential as part of the Schrödinger equation
is re-written using the polar form for the wave function
Continuity equation
The imaginary part of the Schrödinger equation in polar form yields
which, provided
Quantum Hamilton–Jacobi equation
The real part of the Schrödinger equation in polar form yields a modified Hamilton–Jacobi equation
also referred to as quantum Hamilton–Jacobi equation. It differs from the classical Hamilton–Jacobi equation only by the term
This term
In the limit
Properties
Hiley emphasised several aspects that regard the quantum potential of a quantum particle:
In 1979, Hiley and his co-workers Philippidis and Dewdney presented a full calculation on the explanation of the two-slit experiment in terms of Bohmian trajectories that arise for each particle moving under the influence of the quantum potential, resulting in the well-known interference patterns.
Also the shift of the interference pattern which occurs in presence of a magnetic field in the Aharonov–Bohm effect could be explained as arising from the quantum potential.
Relation to the measurement process
The collapse of the wave function of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory is explained in the quantum potential approach by the demonstration that, after a measurement, "all the packets of the multi-dimensional wave function that do not correspond to the actual result of measurement have no effect on the particle" from then on. Bohm and Hiley pointed out that
‘the quantum potential can develop unstable bifurcation points, which separate classes of particle trajectories according to the "channels" into which they eventually enter and within which they stay. This explains how measurement is possible without "collapse" of the wave function, and how all sorts of quantum processes, such as transitions between states, fusion of two states into one and fission of one system into two, are able to take place without the need for a human observer.’Measurement then "involves a participatory transformation in which both the system under observation and the observing apparatus undergo a mutual participation so that the trajectories behave in a correlated manner, becoming correlated and separated into different, non-overlapping sets (which we call ‘channels’)".
Quantum potential of an n-particle system
The Schrödinger wave function of a many-particle quantum system cannot be represented in ordinary three-dimensional space. Rather, it is represented in configuration space, with three dimensions per particle. A single point in configuration space thus represents the configuration of the entire n-particle system as a whole.
A two-particle wave function
where
In case the wave function of two or more particles is separable, then the system's total quantum potential becomes the sum of the quantum potentials of the two particles. Exact separability is extremely unphysical given that interactions between the system and its environment destroy the factorization; however, a wave function that is a superposition of several wave functions of approximately disjoint support will factorize approximately.
Quantum potential in terms of the probability density function
Bohm, as well as other physicists after him, have sought to provide evidence that the Born rule linking
can be understood, in a pilot wave formulation, as not representing a basic law, but rather a theorem (called quantum equilibrium hypothesis) which applies when a quantum equilibrium is reached during the course of the time development under the Schrödinger equation. With Born's rule, and straightforward application of the chain and product rules
the quantum potential, expressed in terms of the probability density function, becomes:
Quantum force
The quantum force
Formulation in configuration space and in momentum space, as the result of projections
M. R. Brown and B. Hiley showed that, as alternative to its formulation terms of configuration space (
In line with David Bohm's approach, Basil Hiley and mathematician Maurice de Gosson showed that the quantum potential can be seen as a consequence of a projection of an underlying structure, more specifically of a non-commutative algebraic structure, onto a subspace such as ordinary space (
The approach has been applied to extended phase space, also in terms of a Duffin–Kemmer–Petiau algebra approach.
Relation to the Fisher information
It can be shown that the mean value of the quantum potential
Using this definition for the Fisher Information, we can write:
Relation to the Madelung pressure tensor
In the Madelung equations presented by Erwin Madelung in 1927, the non-local quantum pressure tensor has the same mathematical form as the quantum potential. The underlying theory is different in that the Bohm approach describes particle trajectories whereas the equations of Madelung quantum hydrodynamics are the Euler equations of a fluid that describe its averaged statistical characteristics.
Relation to the von Weizsäcker correction
In 1935, Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker proposed the addition of an inhomogeneity term (sometimes referred to as a von Weizsäcker correction) to the kinetic energy of the Thomas–Fermi (TF) theory of atoms.
The von Weizsäcker correction term is:
The correction term has also been derived as the first order correction to the TF kinetic energy in a semi-classical correction to the Hartree–Fock theory.
It has been pointed out that the von Weizsäcker correction term at low density takes on the same form as the quantum potential.
Quantum potential as energy of internal motion associated with spin
Giovanni Salesi, Erasmo Recami and co-workers showed in 1998 that, in agreement with the König's theorem, the quantum potential can be identified with the kinetic energy of the internal motion ("zitterbewegung") associated with the spin of a spin-½ particle observed in a center-of-mass frame. More specifically, they showed that the internal zitterbewegung velocity for a spinning, non-relativistic particle of constant spin with no precession, and in absence of an external field, has the squared value:
from which the second term is shown to be of negligible size; then with
Salesi gave further details on this work in 2009.
In 1999, Salvatore Esposito generalized their result from spin-½ particles to particles of arbitrary spin, confirming the interpretation of the quantum potential as a kinetic energy for an internal motion. Esposito showed that (using the notation
and that the causal interpretation of quantum mechanics can be reformulated in terms of a particle velocity
where the "drift velocity" is
and the "relative velocity" is
and
James R. Bogan, in 2002, published the derivation of a reciprocal transformation from the Hamilton-Jacobi equation of classical mechanics to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of quantum mechanics which arises from a gauge transformation representing spin, under the simple requirement of conservation of probability. This spin-dependent transformation is a function of the quantum potential.
EP quantum mechanics with quantum potential as Schwarzian derivative
In a different approach, the EP quantum mechanics formulate on the basis of an Equivalence Principle (EP), a quantum potential is written as:
where
it is stressed by E. Faraggi and M. Matone that this does not correspond with the usual quantum potential, as in their approach
Re-interpretation in terms of Clifford algebras
B. Hiley and R. E. Callaghan re-interpret the role of the Bohm model and its notion of quantum potential in the framework of Clifford algebra, taking account of recent advances that include the work of David Hestenes on spacetime algebra. They show how, within a nested hierarchy of Clifford algebras
Quantum potential and relativity
Bohm and Hiley demonstrated that the non-locality of quantum theory can be understood as limit case of a purely local theory, provided the transmission of active information is allowed to be greater than the speed of light, and that this limit case yields approximations to both quantum theory and relativity.
The quantum potential approach was extended by Hiley and co-workers to quantum field theory in Minkowski spacetime and to curved spacetime.
Carlo Castro and Jorge Mahecha derived the Schrödinger equation from the Hamilton-Jacobi equation in conjunction with the continuity equation, and showed that the properties of the relativistic Bohm quantum potential in terms of the ensemble density can be described by the Weyl properties of space. In Riemann flat space, the Bohm potential is shown to equal the Weyl curvature. According to Castro and Mahecha, in the relativistic case, the quantum potential (using the d'Alembert operator
and the quantum force exerted by the relativistic quantum potential is shown to depend on the Weyl gauge potential and its derivatives. Furthermore, the relationship among Bohm's potential and the Weyl curvature in flat spacetime corresponds to a similar relationship among Fisher Information and Weyl geometry after introduction of a complex momentum.
Diego L. Rapoport, on the other hand, associates the relativistic quantum potential with the metric scalar curvature (Riemann curvature).
In relation to the Klein–Gordon equation for a particle with mass and charge, Peter R. Holland spoke in his book of 1993 of a ‘quantum potential-like term’ that is proportional
Hrvoje Nikolić derived
Quantum potential in quantum field theory
Starting from the space representation of the field coordinate, a causal interpretation of the Schrödinger picture of relativistic quantum theory has been constructed starting from the space representation of the field coordinate. The Schrödinger picture for a neutral, spin 0, massless field
This has been called the superquantum potential by Bohm and his co-workers.
Basil Hiley showed that the energy-momentum-relations in the Bohm model can be obtained directly from the energy-momentum tensor of quantum field theory and that the quantum potential is an energy term that is required for local energy-momentum conservation. He has also hinted that for particle with energies equal to or higher than the pair creation threshold, Bohm's model constitutes a many-particle theory that describes also pair creation and annihilation processes.
Interpretation and naming of the quantum potential
In his article of 1952, providing an alternative interpretation of quantum mechanics, Bohm already spoke of a "quantum-mechanical" potential.
Bohm and Basil Hiley also called the quantum potential an information potential, given that it influences the form of processes and is itself shaped by the environment. Bohm indicated "The ship or aeroplane (with its automatic Pilot) is a self-active system, i.e. it has its own energy. But the form of its activity is determined by the information content concerning its environment that is carried by the radar waves. This is independent of the intensity of the waves. We can similarly regard the quantum potential as containing active information. It is potentially active everywhere, but actually active only where and when there is a particle." (italics in original).
Hiley refers to the quantum potential as internal energy and as "a new quality of energy only playing a role in quantum processes". He explains that the quantum potential is a further energy term aside the well-known kinetic energy and the (classical) potential energy and that it is a nonlocal energy term that arises necessarily in view of the requirement of energy conservation; he added that much of the physics community's resistance against the notion of the quantum potential may have been due to scientists' expectations that energy should be local.
Hiley has emphasized that the quantum potential, for Bohm, was "a key element in gaining insights into what could underlie the quantum formalism. Bohm was convinced by his deeper analysis of this aspect of the approach that the theory could not be mechanical. Rather, it is organic in the sense of Whitehead. Namely, that it was the whole that determined the properties of the individual particles and their relationship, not the other way round." (See also: Bohm and Hiley's work on quantum potential and active information)
Peter R. Holland, in his comprehensive textbook, also refers to it as quantum potential energy. The quantum potential is also referred to in association with Bohm's name as Bohm potential, quantum Bohm potential or Bohm quantum potential.
Applications
The quantum potential approach can be used to model quantum effects without requiring the Schrödinger equation to be explicitly solved, and it can be integrated in simulations, such as Monte Carlo simulations using the hydrodynamic and drift diffusion equations. This is done in form of a "hydrodynamic" calculation of trajectories: starting from the density at each "fluid element", the acceleration of each "fluid element" is computed from the gradient of
The approach using Bohmian trajectories and the quantum potential is used for calculating properties of quantum systems which cannot be solved exactly, which are often approximated using semi-classical approaches. Whereas in mean field approaches the potential for the classical motion results from an average over wave functions, this approach does not require the computation of an integral over wave functions.
The expression for the quantum force has been used, together with Bayesian statistical analysis and Expectation-maximisation methods, for computing ensembles of trajectories that arise under the influence of classical and quantum forces.