Multi-time Schrödinger equations cannot contain interaction potentials

DOI10.1063/1.4867524MaRDI QIDQ5414836zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors Sören Petrat, Roderich Tumulka

Publication date 7 May 2014

Published in Journal of Mathematical Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1308.1065

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Systems of linear higher-order PDEs (35G35) Closed and approximate solutions to the Schrödinger, Dirac, Klein-Gordon and other equations of quantum mechanics (81Q05)

Abstract: Multi-time wave functions are wave functions that have a time variable for every particle, such as $phi(t_1,x_1,ldots,t_N,x_N)$. They arise as a relativistic analog of the wave functions of quantum mechanics but can be applied also in quantum field theory. The evolution of a wave function with N time variables is governed by N Schr"odinger equations, one for each time variable. These Schr"odinger equations can be inconsistent with each other, i.e., they can fail to possess a joint solution for every initial condition; in fact, the N Hamiltonians need to satisfy a certain commutator condition in order to be consistent. While this condition is automatically satisfied for non-interacting particles, it is a challenge to set up consistent multi-time equations with interaction. We prove for a wide class of multi-time Schr"odinger equations that the presence of interaction potentials (given by multiplication operators) leads to inconsistency. We conclude that interaction has to be implemented instead by creation and annihilation of particles, which, in fact, can be done consistently, as we show elsewhere [17]. We also prove the following result: When a cut-off length $delta>0$ is introduced (in the sense that the multi-time wave function is defined only on a certain set of spacelike configurations, thereby breaking Lorentz invariance), then the multi-time Schr"odinger equations with interaction potentials of range $delta$ are consistent; however, in the desired limit $deltao0$ of removing the cut-off, the resulting multi-time equations are interaction-free, which supports the conclusion expressed in the title.

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Cited in

(16)

• Integrable time-dependent Hamiltonians, solvable Landau-Zener models and Gaudin magnets
• Multi-time wave functions versus multiple timelike dimensions
• Born's rule for arbitrary Cauchy surfaces
• Consistency proof for multi-time Schrödinger equations with particle creation and ultraviolet cut-off
• A Lorentz-covariant interacting electron-photon system in one space dimension
• Bohmian mechanics at space-time singularities. I: Timelike singularities
• Lorentz invariant quantum dynamics in the multi-time formalism
• On the description of subsystems in relativistic hypersurface Bohmian mechanics
• Multi-time wave functions for quantum field theory
• Consistency of multi-time Dirac equations with general interaction potentials
• Existence of relativistic dynamics for two directly interacting Dirac particles in 1+3 dimensions
• Multi-time formulation of particle creation and annihilation via interior-boundary conditions
• Multi-time dynamics of the Dirac-Fock-Podolsky model of QED
• A relativistically interacting exactly solvable multi-time model for two massless Dirac particles in \(1+1\) dimensions
• Interacting relativistic quantum dynamics of two particles on spacetimes with a Big Bang singularity
• Multitime propagators and the consistency condition

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