English

A dynamic programming interpretation of quantum mechanics

Quantum Physics 2024-01-09 v1 History and Philosophy of Physics

Abstract

We introduce a transformation of the quantum phase S=S+2logρS'=S+\frac{\hbar}{2}\log\rho, which converts the deterministic equations of quantum mechanics into the Lagrangian reference frame of stochastic particles. We show that the quantum potential can be removed from the transformed quantum Hamilton-Jacobi equations if they are solved as stochastic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations. The system of equations provide a local description of quantum mechanics, which is enabled by the inherently retrocausal nature of stochastic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations. We also investigate the stochastic transformation of the classical system, where is it shown that quantum mechanics with the quantum potential reduced by a factor of 12\frac{1}{2} has a classical representation, which may have interesting implications. Finally, we discuss the notion of a subsystem correspondence principle, which constrains the ontology of the total quantum system.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2401.04085,
  title  = {A dynamic programming interpretation of quantum mechanics},
  author = {Adam Brownstein},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.04085},
  year   = {2024}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T14:11:32.224Z