02.12.2014 (Tuesday)

Quantum mechanical models, cellular automata and a discrete action principle

Regular Seminar Thomas Elze (Pisa University)

at:
13:30 IC
room H503
abstract:

It will be shown that the dynamics of discrete (integer-valued) Hamiltonian cellular automata can only be consistently defined, if it is linear in the same sense that unitary evolution in quantum mechanics is linear. This suggests us to look for an invertible map between such automata and continuous quantum mechanical models. Based on sampling theory, such a map can indeed be constructed and leads to quantum mechanical models which incorporate a fundamental scale. The admissible observables, the one-to-one correspondence of the respective conservation laws, and the existence of solutions of the modified dispersion relation for stationary states are discussed. References: H.-T. Elze, Action principle for cellular automata and the linearity of quantum mechanics, Phys. Rev. A 89, 012111 (2014) [arXiv:1312.1615]; do., Journal of Physics: Conference Series 504 (2014) 012004 [arXiv:1403.2646];