Related papers: Path integral and particle ontology
I discuss topics in Particle Physics applying the novel ontological formulation of Relativistic Quantum Field Theory due to David Bohm. I argument that particle physicists might too benefit from this truly novel way of thinking Physics.
In this paper, I consider the issue of how two mathematical models of modern physics, the variational principles and the quantum path integral formalism, relate to reality. I assume that the observed phenomena are consistent with the…
In my textbook on Quantum Field Theory \cite{tpqft} and in a recent paper \cite{tpejc2018}, I advocated a lattice regularization procedure for defining the path integral for the relativistic particle, using the non-quadratic action…
Several recent arguments purport to show that there can be no relativistic, quantum-mechanical theory of localizable particles and, thus, that relativity and quantum mechanics can be reconciled only in the context of quantum field theory.…
Relativistic quantum mechanics can be considered to have begun with a search for wave equations corresponding to each intrinsic spin. However, relativistic quantum physics differs fundamentally from the non-relativistic wave mechanics. It…
We revise the problem of the quantization of relativistic particle, presenting a modified consistent canonical scheme, which allows one not only to include arbitrary backgrounds in the consideration but to get in course of the quantization…
The apparent impossibility of extending non-relativistic quantum mechanics to a relativistic quantum theory is shown to be due to the insufficient structural richness of the field of complex numbers over which quantum mechanics is built. A…
Quantum field theory is the traditional solution to the problems inherent in melding quantum mechanics with special relativity. However, it has also long been known that an alternative first-quantized formulation can be given for…
The simple physics of a free particle reveals important features of the path-integral formulation of relativistic quantum theories. The exact quantum-mechanical propagator is calculated here for a particle described by the simple…
Quantum theory can be understood as pointing to an ontology of relations. I observe that this reading of quantum mechanics is supported by the ubiquity of relationality in contemporary fundamental physics, including in classical mechanics,…
A preferred form for the path integral discretization is suggested that allows the implementation of canonical transformations in quantum theory.
The path integral formulation in quantum mechanics corresponds to the first quantization since it is just to rewrite the quantum mechanical amplitude into many dimensional integrations over discretized coordinates $x_n$. However, the path…
The essence of the path integral method in quantum physics can be expressed in terms of two relations between unitary propagators, describing perturbations of the underlying system. They inherit the causal structure of the theory and its…
These lectures are intended for graduate students who want to acquire a working knowledge of path integral methods in a wide variety of fields in physics. In general the presentation is elementary and path integrals are developed in the…
The functional integral has many triumphs in elucidating quantum theory. But incorporating charge fractionalization into that formalism remains a challenge.
I suggest that the current situation in quantum field theory (QFT) provides some reason to question the universal validity of ontological reductionism. I argue that the renormalization group flow is reversible except at fixed points, which…
An analysis of classical mechanics in a complex extension of phase space shows that a particle in such a space can behave in a way redolant of quantum mechanics; additional degrees of freedom permit 'tunnelling' without recourse to…
We explore a new approach to the path integral for a latticized quantum theory. This talk is based on work with N. Khuri and H. Ren.
Feynman path integrals are now a standard tool in quantum physics and their use in differential geometry leads to new mathematical insights. A logical treatment of quantum phenomena seems to require a sustained mathematical analysis of path…
We define the idea of {\it real path quantum theory}, a realist generalisation of quantum theory in which it is postulated that the configuration space path actually followed by a closed quantum system is probabilistically chosen. This is…