Lorentz invariance and quantum mechanics

TL;DR

This paper explores the concept of serious Lorentz invariance in quantum theories like Bohmian mechanics and spontaneous collapse models, evaluating their compatibility with relativistic principles and identifying which models meet these criteria.

Contribution

It introduces criteria for serious Lorentz invariance and assesses various quantum models, revealing that spontaneous collapse models satisfy these criteria while some Bohmian models do not.

Findings

Spontaneous collapse models satisfy criteria for serious Lorentz invariance.

Some Bohmian models violate the criteria despite satisfying others.

The criteria clarify which aspects of relativity are compatible with quantum theories.

Abstract

Bohmian mechanics and spontaneous collapse models are theories that overcome the quantum measurement problem. While they are naturally formulated for non-relativistic systems, it has proven difficult to formulate Lorentz invariant extensions, primarily due to the inherent non-locality, which is unavoidable due to Bell's theorem. There are trivial ways to make space-time theories Lorentz invariant, but the challenge is to achieve what Bell dubbed ``serious Lorentz invariance''. However, this notion is hard to make precise. This is reminiscent of the debate on the meaning of general invariance in Einstein's theory of general relativity. The issue there is whether the requirement of general invariance is physically vacuous (in the sense that any space-time theory can be made generally invariant) or whether it is a fundamental physical principle. Here, we want to consider two of the more promising avenues that have emerged from that debate in order to explore what serious Lorentz invariance could mean. First, we will consider Anderson's approach based on the identification of absolute objects. Second, we will consider a relativity principle for isolated subsystems. Using these criteria, we will evaluate a number of Lorentz invariant Bohmian models and a spontaneous collapse model, finding that the latter satisfies both criteria, while there are some Bohmian models that violate the criteria. However, some Bohmian models that satisfy both criteria still do not seem seriously Lorentz invariant. While these notions may hence still not capture exactly what serious Lorentz invariance ought to be, they clarify what aspects of relativity theory (in addition to locality) may need to be given up in passing from classical to quantum theory.