Stochastic electrodynamics and the interpretation of quantum theory

TL;DR

This paper explores stochastic electrodynamics as a classical framework with vacuum fields to interpret quantum phenomena, suggesting it aligns with quantum mechanics under certain conditions and offers a realistic perspective.

Contribution

It revisits and compares stochastic electrodynamics with quantum mechanics, proposing SED as a potential realistic interpretation of quantum phenomena.

Findings

SED reproduces quantum predictions at first order in Planck's constant

Both theories align under specific stochastic equations

SED offers a classical interpretation of quantum effects

Abstract

I propose that quantum mechanics is a stochastic theory and quantum phenomena derive from the existence of real vacuum stochastic fields filling space. I revisit stochastic electrodynamics (SED), a theory that studies classical systems of electrically charged particles immersed in an electromagnetic (zeropoint) radiation field with spectral density proportional to the cube of the frequency, Planck's constant appearing as the parameter fixing the scale. Asides from briefly reviewing known results, I make a detailed comparison between SED and quantum mechanics. Both theories make the same predictions when the stochastic equations of motion are of first order in Planck constant, but not in general. I propose that SED provides a clue for a realistic interpretation of quantum theory.