How Hamilton-Jacobi formalism helps to address the physical meaning of the wave function in Bohmian mechanics

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2501.16989v1
• Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2025 14:42:00 GMT
• Title: How Hamilton-Jacobi formalism helps to address the physical meaning of the wave function in Bohmian mechanics
• Authors: Arnaud Amblard, Aurélien Drezet,
• Abstract summary: The meaning of the wave function has been a subject of intense debate in the foundations of quantum mechanics. In Bohmian Mechanics, the prevailing view is the nomological interpretation, which regards the wave function as a nomological entity.
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• Abstract: The meaning of the wave function has been a subject of intense debate in the foundations of quantum mechanics. In Bohmian Mechanics, the prevailing view is the nomological interpretation, which regards the wave function as a nomological entity. To make this abstract notion more concrete, the wave function is often compared to the classical Hamiltonian - another high-dimensional field whose gradient determines particle motion. However, unlike the wave function, the Hamiltonian is not the solution to a differential equation. Furthermore, while the Hamilton-Jacobi formalism offers a pilot-wave formulation of classical mechanics, it has been largely overlooked in contemporary discussions about the physical meaning of the wave function. Nonetheless, in the classical limit, there is a clear mathematical connection between the quantum wave function and the guiding field in this formalism, specifically the action function S. On the basis of these mathematical parallels, we initially intended to argue that the action function is a more appropriate classical analogue of the wave function, which, when combined with a clear conceptual distinction between laws of nature and nomological entities, could strengthen the nomological interpretation. We thought it could address some of the criticisms levelled at the nomological interpretation without resorting to the speculative realm of quantum gravity. However, contrary to our initial expectations, a closer comparison of the roles played by the action function and the wave function in their respective formalisms suggests a departure from the nomological interpretation in favour of the so-called sui generis interpretation of the wave function.

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