Quantum Theory over a Galois Field and Applications to Gravity and Particle Theory (original) (raw)
Related papers
Finite Mathematics, Finite Quantum Theory and Applications to Gravity and Particle Theory
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2014
We argue that the main reason of crisis in quantum theory is that nature, which is fundamentally discrete and even finite, is described by classical mathematics involving the notions of infinitely small, continuity etc. Moreover, since classical mathematics has its own foundational problems which cannot be resolved (as follows, in particular, from Gödel's incompleteness theorems), the ultimate physical theory cannot be based on that mathematics. In the first part of the work we discuss inconsistencies in standard quantum theory and reformulate the theory such that it can be naturally generalized to a formulation based on finite mathematics. It is shown that: a) as a consequence of inconsistent definition of standard position operator, predictions of the theory contradict the data on observations of stars; b) the cosmological acceleration and gravity can be treated simply as kinematical manifestations of quantum de Sitter symmetry, i.e. the cosmological constant problem does not exist, and for describing those phenomena the notions of dark energy, space-time background and gravitational interaction are not needed. In the second part we first prove that classical mathematics is a special degenerate case of finite mathematics in the formal limit when the characteristic p of the field or ring in the latter goes to infinity. This implies that mathematics describing nature at the most fundamental level involves only a finite number of numbers while the notions of limit and infinitely small/large and the notions constructed from them (e.g. continuity, derivative and integral) are needed only in calculations describing nature approximately. In a quantum theory based on finite mathematics, the de Sitter gravitational constant depends on p and disappears in the formal limit p → ∞, i.e. gravity is a consequence of finiteness of nature. The application to particle theory gives that the notion of a particle and its antiparticle is only approximate and, as a consequence: a) the electric charge and the baryon and lepton quantum numbers can be only approximately conserved; b) particles which in standard theory are treated as neutral (i.e. coinciding with their antiparticles) cannot be elementary. We argue that only Dirac singletons can be true elementary particles and discuss a conjecture that classical time t manifests itself as a consequence of the fact that p changes, i.e. p and not t is the true evolution parameter.
Finite Quantum Theory and Applications to Gravity and Particle Theory
arXiv: General Physics, 2011
We argue that the main reason of crisis in quantum theory is that nature, which is fundamentally discrete and even finite, is described by continuous mathematics. Moreover, no ultimate physical theory can be based on continuous mathematics because, as follows from G\"{o}del's incompleteness theorems, any mathematics involving the set of all natural numbers has its own foundational problems which cannot be resolved. In the first part of the work we discuss inconsistencies in standard quantum theory and reformulate the theory such that it can be naturally generalized to a formulation based on finite mathematics. It is shown that: a) as a consequence of inconsistent definition of standard position operator, predictions of the theory contradict the data on observations of stars; b) the cosmological acceleration and gravity can be treated simply as {\it kinematical} manifestations of de Sitter symmetry on quantum level ({\it i.e. for describing those phenomena the notions of dar...
Finite Mathematics, Finite Quantum Theory and a Conjecture on the Nature of Time
Physics of Particles and Nuclei, 2019
We first give a rigorous mathematical proof that classical mathematics (involving such notions as infinitely small/large, continuity etc.) is a special degenerate case of finite one in the formal limit when the characteristic p of the field or ring in finite mathematics goes to infinity. We consider a finite quantum theory (FQT) based on finite mathematics and prove that standard continuous quantum theory is a special case of FQT in the formal limit p → ∞. The description of states in standard quantum theory contains a big redundancy of elements: the theory is based on real numbers while with any desired accuracy the states can be described by using only integers, i.e. rational and real numbers play only auxiliary role. Therefore, in FQT infinities cannot exist in principle, FQT is based on a more fundamental mathematics than standard quantum theory and the description of states in FQT is much more thrifty than in standard quantum theory. Space and time are purely classical notions and are not present in FQT at all. In the present paper we discuss how classical equations of motions arise as a consequence of the fact that p changes, i.e. p is the evolution parameter. It is shown that there exist scenarios when classical equations of motion for cosmological acceleration and gravity can be formulated exclusively in terms of quantum quantities without using space, time and standard semiclassical approximation.
Crisis in Quantum Theory and Its Possible Resolution
2014
It is argued that the main reason of crisis in quantum theory is that nature, which is fundamentally discrete, is described by continuous mathematics. Moreover, no ultimate physical theory can be based on continuous mathematics because, as follows from Gödel's incompleteness theorems, any mathematics involving the set of all natural numbers has its own foundational problems which cannot be resolved. In the first part of the paper inconsistencies in standard approach to quantum theory are discussed and the theory is reformulated such that it can be naturally generalized to a formulation based on discrete and finite mathematics. Then the cosmological acceleration and gravity can be treated simply as kinematical manifestations of de Sitter symmetry on quantum level (i.e. for describing those phenomena the notions of dark energy, space-time background and gravitational interaction are not needed). In the second part of the paper motivation, ideas and main results of a quantum theory over a Galois field (GFQT) are described. In contrast to standard quantum theory, GFQT is based on a solid mathematics and therefore can be treated as a candidate for ultimate quantum theory. The presentation is non-technical and should be understandable by a wide audience of physicists and mathematicians.
arXiv (Cornell University), 2010
When a mountaineer is ascending one of the great peaks of the Himalayas she knows that an entirely new vista awaits her at the top, whose ramifications will be known only after she gets there. Her immediate goal though, is to tackle the obstacles on the way up, and reach the summit. In a similar vein, one of the immediate goals of contemporary theoretical physics is to build a quantum, unified description of general relativity and the standard model of particle physics. Once that peak has been reached, a new (yet unknown) vista will open up. In this essay I propose a novel approach towards this goal. One must address and resolve a fundamental unsolved problem in the presently known formulation of quantum theory : the unsatisfactory presence of an external classical time in the formulation. Solving this problem takes us to the very edge of theoretical physics as we know it today!
Quantum Gravity and Mereology: Not So Simple
The Philosophical Quarterly, 2021
A number of philosophers have argued in favour of extended simples on the grounds that they are needed by fundamental physics. The arguments typically appeal to theories of quantum gravity. To date, the argument in favour of extended simples has ignored the fact that the very existence of spacetime is put under pressure by quantum gravity. We thus consider the case for extended simples in the context of different views on the existence of spacetime. We show that the case for extended simples based on physics is far more complex than has been previously thought. We present and then map this complexity, in order to present a much more textured picture of the argument for extended simples.
2010
I will argue that the proposal of establishing operational foundations of Quantum Theory should have top-priority, and that the Lucien Hardy's program on Quantum Gravity should be paralleled by an analogous program on Quantum Field Theory (QFT), which needs to be reformulated, notwithstanding its experimental success. In this paper, after reviewing recently suggested operational "principles of the quantumness", I address the problem on whether Quantum Theory and Special Relativity are unrelated theories, or instead, if the one implies the other. I show how Special Relativity can be indeed derived from causality of Quantum Theory, within the computational paradigm "the universe is a huge quantum computer", reformulating QFT as a Quantum-Computational Field Theory (QCFT). In QCFT Special Relativity emerges from the fabric of the computational network, which also naturally embeds gauge invariance. In this scheme even the quantization rule and the Planck constant can in principle be derived as emergent from the underlying causal tapestry of space-time. In this way Quantum Theory remains the only theory operating the huge computer of the universe.
The gravity of the classical field of quantum mechanics
2020
In this work, with the help of the quantum hydrodynamic formalism, the gravitational equation associated to the Dirac field is derived. The hydrodynamic representation of the Dirac equation have been generalizaed to the curved space-time in the covariant form. Thence, the metric of the spacetime has been defined by imposing the minimum action principle. The derived gravity shows the spontaneous emergence of the cosmological gravity tensor (CGT) as a part of the energy-impulse tensor density (EITD) that in the classical limit leads to the cosmological constant (CC). Even if the classical cosmological constant is set to zero, the CGT is non zero, allowing to have a stable quantum vacuum (out of the collapsed branched polymer phase). The theory shows that in the classical limit, the gravity equation leads to the general relativity equation. In the perturbative approach, the CGT leads to a second order correction to the Newtonian gravity that takes contribution from the space where the ...
From Quantum Gravity to Classical Phenomena
2013
Quantum gravity is supposed to be the most fundamental theory, including a quantum theory of the metrical field (spacetime). However, it is not clear how a quantum theory of gravity could account for classical phenomena, including notably measurement outcomes. But all the evidence that we have for a physical theory is based on measurement outcomes. We consider this problem in the framework of canonical quantum gravity, pointing out a dilemma: all the available accounts that admit classical phenomena presuppose entities with a well-defined spatio-temporal localization ("local beables" in John Bell's terms) as primitive. But there seems to be no possibility to include such primitives in canonical quantum gravity. However, if one does not do so, it is not clear how entities that are supposed to be ontologically prior to spacetime could give rise to entities that then are spatio-temporally localized.
Some reflections on the status of conventional quantum theory when applied to quantum gravity
The Future of Theoretical Physics and Cosmology: …
All current approaches to quantum gravity employ essentially standard quantum theory including, in particular, continuum quantities such as the real or complex numbers. However, I wish to argue that this may be fundamentally wrong in so far as the use of these continuum quantities in standard quantum theory can be traced back to certain a priori assumptions about the nature of space and time: assumptions that may be incompatible with the view of space and time adopted by a quantum gravity theory. My conjecture is that in, some yet to be determined sense, to each type of space-time there is associated a corresponding type of quantum theory in which continuum quantities do not necessarily appear, being replaced with structures that are appropriate to the specific space-time. Topos theory then arises as a possible tool for 'gluing' together these different theories associated with the different space-times. As a concrete example of the use of topos ideas, I summarise recent work applying presheaf theory to the Kochen-Specher theorem and the assignment of values to physical quantities in a quantum theory.