A centennial reappraisal of Heisenberg's Quantum Mechanics with a perspective on Einstein's Quantum Riddle

TL;DR

This paper reexamines Heisenberg's foundational work in quantum mechanics from a modern perspective, offering new insights into his intuitions, the origin of the canonical quantization rule, and Einstein's Quantum Riddle, reflecting on the past century of quantum theory.

Contribution

It provides a novel reinterpretation of Heisenberg's discoveries and the origins of quantum rules, connecting historical insights with contemporary understanding.

Findings

New perspectives on Heisenberg's intuitions

Insights into the origin of the canonical quantization rule

Discussion on Einstein's Quantum Riddle and future directions

Abstract

Heisenberg's breakthrough in his July 1925 paper that set in motion the development of Quantum Mechanics through subsequent papers by Born, Jordan, Heisenberg and also Dirac (from 1925 to 1927) is reexamined through a modern lens. In this paper, we shall discuss some new perspectives on (i) what could be the guiding intuitions for his discoveries and (ii) the origin of the Born-Jordan-Heisenberg canonical quantization rule. From this vantage point we may get an insight into Einstein's Quantum Riddle (Lande1974,Sommerfeld1918,Born1926) and a possible glimpse of what might come next after the last 100 years of Heisenberg's quantum mechanics.