Generally covariant quantum mechanics
Abstract
We obtain generally covariant operator-valued geodesic equations on a pseudo-Riemannian manifold as part of the construction of quantum geodesics on the algebra of differential operators. Geodesic motion arises here as an associativity condition for a certain form of first order differential calculus on this algebra in the presence of curvature. The corresponding Schr\"odinger picture has wave functions on spacetime and proper time evolution by the Klein-Gordon operator, with stationary modes being solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation. As an application, we describe gravatom solutions of the Klein-Gordon equations around a Schwarzschild black hole, i.e. gravitationally bound states which far from the event horizon resemble atomic states with the black hole in the role of the nucleus. The spatial eigenfunctions exhibit probability density banding as for higher orbital modes of an ordinary atom, but of a fractal nature approaching the horizon.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2412.07757,
title = {Generally covariant quantum mechanics},
author = {Edwin Beggs and Shahn Majid},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.07757},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
51 pages AMSLATEX, 3 figures, expanded/clarified some explanations and improved the title