English

Considering a superposition of classical reference frames

Quantum Physics 2023-12-22 v1 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Mathematical Physics math.MP

Abstract

A ubiquitous feature of quantum mechanical theories is the existence of states of superposition. This is expected to be no different for a quantum gravity theory. Guided by this consideration and others we consider a framework in which classical reference frames may be in superposition relative to one another. Mirroring standard quantum mechanics we introduce a complex-valued wavefunctional, which takes as input the transformations between the coordinates, Ψ[x(x)]\Psi[x(x')], with the interpretation that an interaction between the reference frames may select a particular transformation with probability distribution given by the Born rule - P[x(x)]=probability distribution functionalΨ[x(x)]2P[x(x')] = \text{probability distribution functional} \equiv \vert \Psi[x(x')] \vert^2. The cases of two and three reference frames in superposition are considered explicitly. It is shown that the set of transformations is closed. A rule for transforming wavefunctions from one system to another system in superposition is proposed and consistency with the Schrodinger equation is demonstrated.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2312.13540,
  title  = {Considering a superposition of classical reference frames},
  author = {Elliott Tammaro and Hunter Angle and Edmund Mbadu},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2312.13540},
  year   = {2023}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T13:58:16.675Z