Communication: Quantum mechanics without wavefunctions

Journal Article · Sat Jan 21 00:00:00 EST 2012 · Journal of Chemical Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3680558· OSTI ID:22047157

Schiff, Jeremy ^[1]; Poirier, Bill ^[2]

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1. Department of Mathematics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900 (Israel)
2. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas Tech University, Box 41061, Lubbock, Texas 79409-1061 (United States) and Department of Physics, Texas Tech University, Box 41051, Lubbock, Texas 79409-1051 (United States)

We present a self-contained formulation of spin-free non-relativistic quantum mechanics that makes no use of wavefunctions or complex amplitudes of any kind. Quantum states are represented as ensembles of real-valued quantum trajectories, obtained by extremizing an action and satisfying energy conservation. The theory applies for arbitrary configuration spaces and system dimensionalities. Various beneficial ramifications--theoretical, computational, and interpretational--are discussed.

• OSTI ID: 22047157
• Journal Information: Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 136, Issue 3; Other Information: (c) 2012 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ENERGY CONSERVATION
QUANTUM MECHANICS
QUANTUM STATES
SPIN
WAVE FUNCTIONS