Relational reality in relativistic quantum mechanics

Canonical Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

Born proposed a unification of special relativity and quantum mechanics that placed position, time, energy and momentum on equal footing through a reciprocity principle and extended the usual position-time and energy-momentum line elements to this space by combining them through a new fundamental constant. Requiring also invariance of the symplectic metric yields as the invariance group, the in...

Relational Quantum Mechanics

Relational Quantum Mechanics

In this internship report, we present Carlo Rovelli’s relational interpretation of quantum mechanics, focusing on its historical and conceptual roots. A critical analysis of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen argument is then put forward, which suggests that the phenomenon of ‘quantum non-locality’ is an artifact of the orthodox interpretation, and not a physical effect. A speculative discussion of th...

Relativistic Non-Hermitian Quantum Mechanics

We develop relativistic wave equations in the framework of the new non-hermitian PT quantum mechanics. The familiar Hermitian Dirac equation emerges as an exact result of imposing the Dirac algebra, the criteria of PT -symmetric quantum mechanics, and relativistic invariance. However, relaxing the constraint that in particular the mass matrix be Hermitian also allows for models that have no cou...

Variational methods in relativistic quantum mechanics

This review is devoted to the study of stationary solutions of linear and nonlinear equations from relativistic quantum mechanics, involving the Dirac operator. The solutions are found as critical points of an energy functional. Contrary to the Laplacian appearing in the equations of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, the Dirac operator has a negative continuous spectrum which is not bounded fr...