Pascual Jordan's resolution of the conundrum of the wave-particle duality of light

DOI10.1016/J.SHPSB.2008.04.005zbMATH Open1223.81007arXiv0709.3812OpenAlexW2168874278MaRDI QIDQ643479FDOQ643479

Authors: Anthony Duncan, Michel Janssen 

Publication date: 31 October 2011

Published in: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. Part B. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: In 1909, Einstein derived a formula for the mean square energy fluctuation in black-body radiation. This formula is the sum of a wave term and a particle term. In a key contribution to the 1925 Dreimaennerarbeit with Born and Heisenberg, Jordan showed that one recovers both terms in a simple model of quantized waves. So the two terms do not require separate mechanisms but arise from a single consistent dynamical framework. Several authors have argued that various infinities invalidate Jordan's conclusions. In this paper, we defend Jordan's argument against such criticism. In particular, we note that the fluctuation in a narrow frequency range, which is what Jordan calculated, is perfectly finite. We also note, however, that Jordan's argument is incomplete. In modern terms, Jordan calculated the quantum uncertainty in the energy of a subsystem in an energy eigenstate of the whole system, whereas the thermal fluctuation is the average of this quantity over an ensemble of such states. Still, our overall conclusion is that Jordan's argument is basically sound and that he deserves credit for resolving a major conundrum in the development of quantum physics.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/0709.3812

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zbMATH Keywords

fluctuationsquantum field theorymatrix mechanicswave-particle dualityPascual JordanumdeutungDreimännerarbeit

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) History of quantum theory (81-03)

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Cited In (12)

• Modular localization and the foundational origin of integrability
• Einstein's quantum theory of the monatomic ideal gas: non-statistical arguments for a new statistics
• Quantum mechanics, radiation, and the equivalence proof
• Modular localization and the holistic structure of causal quantum theory, a historical perspective
• A formal framework for the study of the notion of undefined particle number in quantum mechanics
• Causality and dispersion relations and the role of the S-matrix in the ongoing research
• Drawing the line between kinematics and dynamics in special relativity
• Jordan's derivation of blackbody fluctuations
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Jordan in The Church of The Higher Hilbert Space: Entanglement and Thermal Fluctuations
• Field quantization and wave particle duality
• From canonical transformations to transformation theory, 1926--1927: the road to Jordan's ``Neue Begründung

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