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In the quest for an understanding of nonlocality with respect to an appropriate ontology, we propose a “cosmological solution”. We assume that from the beginning of the universe each point in space has been the location of a scalar field representing a zero-point vacuum energy that nonlocally vibrates at a vast range of different frequencies across the whole universe. A quantum, then, is a nonequilibrium steady state in the form of a “bouncer” coupled resonantly to one of those (particle type dependent) frequencies, in remote analogy to the bouncing oil drops on an oscillating oil bath as in Couder’s experiments. A major difference to the latter analogy is given by the nonlocal nature of the vacuum oscillations. We show with the examples of double- and n-slit interference that the assumed nonlocality of the distribution functions alone suffices to derive the de Broglie–Bohm guiding equation for N particles with otherwise purely classical means. In our model, no influences from configuration space are required, as everything can be described in 3-space. Importantly, the setting up of an experimental arrangement limits and shapes the forward and osmotic contributions and is described as vacuum landscaping. View Full-Text / Download Paper



By Gerhard Grössing, Siegfried Fussy, Johannes Mesa Pascasio and Herbert Schwabl



This abstract belongs to an article of the Special Issue "Emergent Quantum Mechanics – David Bohm Centennial Perspectives"



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The biggest and most lasting among David Bohm’s (1917–1992) many achievements is to have proposed a picture of reality that explains the empirical rules of quantum mechanics. This picture, known as pilot wave theory or Bohmian mechanics among other names, is still the simplest and most convincing explanation available. According to this theory, electrons are point particles in the literal sense and move along trajectories governed by Bohm’s equation of motion. In this paper, I describe some more recent developments and extensions of Bohmian mechanics, concerning in particular relativistic space-time and particle creation and annihilation. View Full-Text / Download Paper



By Roderich Tumulka



This abstract belongs to an article of the Special Issue "Emergent Quantum Mechanics – David Bohm Centennial Perspectives"



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Quantum physics demands some radical revision of our fundamental beliefs about physical reality. We know that because there are certain verified physical phenomena—two-slit interference, the disappearance of interference upon monitoring, violations of Bell’s inequality—that have no classical analogs. But the exact nature of that revision has been under dispute since the foundation of quantum theory. I offer a method of clarifying what the commitments of a clearly formulated physical theory are, and apply it to a discussion of some options available to account for another non-classical phenomenon: the Aharonov–Bohm effect. View Full-Text / Download Paper



By Tim Maudlin



This abstract belongs to an article of the Special Issue "Emergent Quantum Mechanics – David Bohm Centennial Perspectives"



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The article describes an interpretation of the mathematical formalism of standard quantum mechanics in terms of relations. In particular, the wave function ψ(x) is interpreted as a complex-valued relation between an entity (often called “particle”) and a second entity x (often called “spatial point”). Such complex-valued relations can also be formulated for classical physical systems. Entanglement is interpreted as a relation between two entities (particles or properties of particles). Such relations define the concept of “being next to each other”, which implies that entangled entities are close to each other, even though they might appear to be far away with respect to a classical background space. However, when space is also considered to be a network of relations (of which the classical background space is a large-scale continuum limit), such nearest neighbor configurations are possible. The measurement problem is discussed from the perspective of this interpretation. It should be emphasized that this interpretation is not meant to be a serious attempt to describe the ontology of our world, but its purpose is to make it obvious that, besides Bohmian mechanics, presumably many other ontological interpretations of quantum theory exist. View Full-Text / Download Paper



By Thomas Filk



This abstract belongs to an article of the Special Issue "Emergent Quantum Mechanics – David Bohm Centennial Perspectives"



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This paper reviews results about discrete physics and non-commutative worlds and explores further the structure and consequences of constraints linking classical calculus and discrete calculus formulated via commutators. In particular, we review how the formalism of generalized non-commutative electromagnetism follows from a first order constraint and how, via the Kilmister equation, relationships with general relativity follow from a second order constraint. It is remarkable that a second order constraint, based on interlacing the commutative and non-commutative worlds, leads to an equivalent tensor equation at the pole of geodesic coordinates for general relativity. View Full-Text / Download Paper



By Louis H. Kauffman



This abstract belongs to an article of the Special Issue "Emergent Quantum Mechanics – David Bohm Centennial Perspectives"



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The present work is concerned with the study of a generalized Langevin equation and its link to the physical theories of statistical mechanics and scale relativity. It is demonstrated that the form of the coefficients of the Langevin equation depends critically on the assumption of continuity of the reconstructed trajectory. This in turn demands for the fluctuations of the diffusion term to be discontinuous in time. This paper further investigates the connection between the scale-relativistic and stochastic mechanics approaches, respectively, with the study of the Burgers equation, which in this case appears as a stochastic geodesic equation for the drift. By further demanding time reversibility of the drift, the Langevin equation can also describe equivalent quantum-mechanical systems in a path-wise manner. The resulting statistical description obeys the Fokker–Planck equation of the probability density of the differential system, which can be readily estimated from simulations of the random paths. Based on the Fokker–Planck formalism, a new derivation of the transient probability densities is presented. Finally, stochastic simulations are compared to the theoretical results. View Full-Text / Download Paper

By Dimiter Prodanov



This abstract belongs to an article of the Special Issue "Emergent Quantum Mechanics – David Bohm Centennial Perspectives"



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