Classical signal viewpoint to bunching and anti-bunching

TL;DR

This paper introduces a classical wave-based framework called PCSFT to interpret quantum phenomena like bunching and anti-bunching, traditionally viewed as nonclassical, using classical random fields.

Contribution

It presents a novel classical signal approach to quantum effects, challenging the notion that anti-bunching is exclusively quantum.

Findings

Anti-bunching can be represented by classical random fields.

Quantum correlations are modeled as classical averages.

PCSFT bridges classical and quantum descriptions.

Abstract

The similarity between classical wave mechanics and quantum mechanics (QM) played an important role in the development of QM (starting with works of De Broglie, Schr\"odinger, "late Einstein", Lamb, Lande, Mandel, Marshall, Santos, Boyer, and many others). We present a new wave-type approach, so called prequantum classical statistical field theory (PCSFT). PCSFT explores an analogy between some quantum phenomena and classical theory of random fields. Quantum systems are interpreted as symbolic representations of such fields (not only for photons, cf. Lande and Lamb, but even for massive particles). All quantum averages and correlations (including composite systems in entangled states) can be represented as averages and correlations for classical random fields. In this paper PCSFT is used to provide a classical signal representation of bunching and anti-bunching. At least the latter is typically considered as essentially quantum (nonclassical) phenomenon.