You could use a variety of formulas for such a function, but often the exact shape doesnt matter, and its convenient to take the limit where the spike becomes in nitely narrow and in nitely tall to become a dirac delta function, denoted x x 0. Handinhand with this interpretation is the heisenberg uncertainty principle which, historically, preceded the formulation of the probability in terpretation. Solving complex problems borns interpretation of the wave function it is not possible to measure all properties of a quantum system precisely max born suggested that the wave function was related to the probability that an observable has a specific value. The ontological meaning of the wave function is an important problem in the metaphysics of quantum mechanics. To arrive at results consistent with real time observations, we have imposed several requirements on the wave function of a quantum mechanical system. Initially schrodinger thought incorrectly that the wave. In this paper i investigate, within the framework of realistic interpretations of the wave function in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, the mathematical and physical nature of the wave function. The transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics tiqm takes the psi and psi wave functions of the standard quantum formalism to be retarded forward in time and advanced backward in time waves that form a quantum interaction as a wheelerfeynman handshake or transaction. How do we interpret the wave function and how do extract information from the it. Thus,we cannot learn where the particle is from this wave function. Lecture notes weng cho chew1 october 5, 2012 1the author is with u of illinois, urbanachampaign. The wave function, at a particular time, contains all.
The reality or unreality of the quantum wave function is a topic of lively debate in the foundations of quantum mechanics. A wave function may be used to describe the probability of finding an electron within a matter wave. Physical significance of wave function bhushan poojary1 1nims university, india abstract wave function is a mathematical tool used in quantum mechanics to describe any physical system. To be more precise, the square of the wave function gives the probability of finding the location of the electron in the given area, since the normal answer for the wave function is usually a complex number. Borns rule for statistical interpretation of wave function. Borrowing a word from german, we say that a delta function. I argue against the view that mathematically the wave. So this wave function gives you a mathematical description for what the shape of the wave is. Schrodinger equationautomatically preservesthe normalization of the wavefunctionaswewillprovebelow. It turns out that the wave function represents the state of random discontinuous motion of particles, and its modulus square determines the.
In quantum mechanics, the physical state of an electron is described by a wave function. An ontological interpretation of the wave function shan gao december 12, 20 abstract it is argued that, based on a new analysis of twobody systems, wave function realism seems to imply an unique ontological interpretation of the wave function, according to which the wave function represents the. For the complex square to be meaningful statistically, we need the probabilities to sum to 1. Currently there is no physical explanation about wave function. Irrespective of the interpretation of the wavefunction, once a system has an effective wavefunction, the system can be taken to be independent from the environment in the following sense. The physical meaning of the wave function is an important interpretative prob lem of quantum mechanics. This fact challenges the realistic interpretation of the quantum state.
In this paper, we propose an ontological interpretation of the wave function in terms of random discontinuous motion of particles. According to the standard probability interpretation, the wave function of an electron is probability amplitude, and its modulus square gives the probability density of finding the electron in a certain position in space. The uniquely compelling feature of this new interpretation is that it ascribes maximal geometric content to the dirac wave function. The same conclusion follows from the analysis of the meaning of the wave function in the semiclassical regime.
How to protect the interpretation of the wave function against protective measurements jos u. In a similar way, hereafter, we shall restrict ourselves to a. This scanning tunneling microscope image of graphite shows the most probable place to find electrons. Pdf a new argument for the nomological interpretation of. In section 2, we will introduce an ontological interpretation of the wave function in terms of random discontinuous motion of particles. Superposition, wave function collapse, and uncertainty principle in quantum physics. The wave function in quantum mechanics kiyoung kim department of physics, university of utah, slc, ut 84112 usa abstract through a new interpretation of special theory of relativity and with a model given for physical space, we can nd a way to understand the basic principles of quantum mechanics consistently from classical theory. An argument against the realistic interpretation of the. The most common symbols for a wave function are the greek letters. But this view met serious objections and was soon replaced by borns probability interpretation born 1926, which becomes the standard interpretation of the wave function today.
In a realistic interpretation, the wave function of a quantum system can be taken as a description of either a physical field or the ergodic motion of a particle. If one follows this interpretation, quantum mechanics is entirely consistent. If we normalize the wave function at time t0, it willstay normalized. However, the square of the absolute value of the wave function has a physical interpretation. In this thoughtful and thoughtprovoking book, shan gao offers nothing less than a novel realist interpretation of the wave function, as describing the propensities of particles undergoing random discontinuous motion. Pdf so far, the wave function has been interpreted as a probability amplitude, which is given physical meaning by ensemble. Bs wave function just prior to his entry into the room, which he. The zitterbewegung interpretation of quantum mechanics. Wavefunction older version downloads older versions no longer supported. To do this, the wave function, which may include an imaginary number, is squared to yield a real number solution.
Wave function, in quantum mechanics, variable quantity that mathematically describes the wave characteristics of a particle. In view of this veryunsatisfactory situation, it seems to be necessary to put some light on the problem of the physical meaning of the wave function from the standpoint of the theory of special relativity. This is a wave function of constant amplitude and wavelength. Pdf a particle ontological interpretation of the wave. On the other hand, this fact follows easily if we interpret the quantum state as a mere calculation device, bookkeeping past real quantum events. According to this interpretation, the wave function of an nbody. You may now be thinking that the only useful wavefunctions are peaks that are welllocalized. We give an alternative interpretation of the wave function for a single system by means of a measurement which lasts a long time. So different electron systems are gonna have different wave functions, and this is psi, its the symbol for the wave function. We find that the probability becomes exactly the square of wave function because the general state of the system is made up of. They wanted a mathematical description for the shape of that wave, and thats called the wave function. Cramer, who argues that it helps in developing intuition for quantum. What is the physical significance of wave function. The wave function, at a particular time, contains all the information that anybody at that time can have about the particle.
But the wave function itself has no physical interpretation. Wave functions and uncertainty the wave function characterizes particles in terms of the probability of finding them at various points in space. Then, the probability of an electron being within a certain area can be assessed. A new ontological interpretation of the wave function. Wave function and its physical interpretation physics. A wave function of quantum mechanical system is some thing associated with its wave nature. Derivation of the meaning of the wave function semantic scholar. In quantum mechanics, the wave function, usually represented by.
I was studying borns interpretation of wave function and it says that the square of the modulus of the wave function is a measure of the probability of finding the particle at that position. The copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics tells us complex square of the wave function gives the probability density function pdf of a quantum system. A wave function in quantum physics is a mathematical description of the quantum state of an isolated quantum system. How to protect the interpretation of the wave function. The wave function is a complexvalued probability amplitude, and the probabilities for the possible results of measurements made on the system can be derived from it. Pdf a new ontological interpretation of the wave function. So far, we have made a lot of progress concerning the properties of, and interpretation of the wave function, but as yet we have had very little to. The state of a quantummechanical system is completely specified by its wave function. On the reality and meaning of the wave function citeseerx. The born rule and its interpretation the born rule provides a link between the mathematical formalism of quantum theory and experiment, and as such is almost singlehandedly responsible for practically all predictions of quantum physics. The meaning of the wave function has been a hot topic of debate since the early days of quantum mechanics. The wave is the same everywhere and so there is no distinguishing feature that could indicate one possible position of the particle from any other. Introduction to quantum mechanics harvard university.
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