De Broglie Phase Research Articles

On Some Forgotten Formulas of L. de Broglie and the Nature of Thermal Time.

From 1948 until around 1965, Louis de Broglie, awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1929 for his fundamental contributions to quantum theory, pursued a systematic study of the formal analogies between wave mechanics and the thermomechanics of Boltzmann and Helmholtz. As part of this line of research, he produced several interesting observations, which were, however, published only in French, and, therefore, had a very limited diffusion. Here, we reconsider, in particular, a result of his relating to the analogy between the internal clock (de Broglie phase) of a free particle and a cyclic isothermal process in a thermomechanical system. We show that the fundamental equivalence obtained by him can be derived under more convenient hypotheses than the original ones, essentially tied to the quantization of the action exchanged by the particle with a suitable thermostat. In this emended formulation, the relations proposed by de Broglie describe the emergence of the particle proper time from a thermal background. They also suggest a specific physical meaning of the Wick rotation, often used in quantum mechanical calculations, and the thermal time that appears in it.

Observation of optical de Broglie–Mackinnon wave packets

de Broglie wave packets accompanying moving particles are dispersive and lack an intrinsic length scale solely dictated by the particle mass and velocity. Mackinnon proposed a localized non-dispersive wave packet constructed out of dispersive de Broglie phase waves that possess an intrinsic length scale via an inversion of the roles of particle and observer. So far, the de Broglie–Mackinnon wave packet has remained a theoretical proposal. Here we report the observation of optical de Broglie–Mackinnon wave packets using paraxial space–time-coupled pulsed laser fields in the presence of anomalous group-velocity dispersion. Crucially, the bandwidth of de Broglie–Mackinnon wave packets has an upper limit that is compatible with the wave-packet group velocity and equivalent mass. In contrast to previously observed linear-propagation-invariant wave packets whose spatio-temporal profiles at any axial plane are X-shaped, those for de Broglie–Mackinnon wave packets are uniquely O-shaped (circularly symmetric with respect to space and time). By sculpting their spatio-temporal spectral structure, we produce dispersion-free de Broglie–Mackinnon wave packets in the dispersive medium, observe their circularly symmetric spatio-temporal intensity profiles and closed-trajectory spectra, and tune the field parameters that uniquely determine the wave-packet length scale. de Broglie–Mackinnon wave packets are an extension of matter waves, but have so far remained a theoretical construct. Combining spatio-temporal light fields with anomalous dispersion has now allowed their experimental observation.

Matter and Information - Objectivity and Subjectivity

Quantum phenomena seem to blur the distinction between matter and information, and objectivity and subjectivity. A quantum particle cannot be observed directly and needs to be 'observed' in a suitably designed measurement experiment. Even in such an experiment, what we actually observe (by means of senses) is the measuring device, which is said to be ‘classical’. The position and other 'observable' properties of a quantum particle (QP) are only inferred from the devices’ readings. Quantum Mechanics tells us that a QP is a packet of de Broglie's phase waves, each of which carries no energy and goes faster than light. Clearly, the phase wave is a mathematical abstraction, an idea in physicists' minds; it cannot be observed for example, like light, or heard like a wave of an oscillating string. However, the phase wave’s wavelength can be measured in a suitably designed experiment. So, one may call the de Broglie phase wave as a piece of ‘objective information’! Since classical matter, i.e., matter which is observable directly by senses is supposed to be made of numerous QPs also, it seems that all matter is made of ‘objective information’, i.e., information, which is not observable directly but some of whose properties can be measured and verified in some way and agreed upon by a group of people. Considering the brain to be a quantum system, we will explain why a sensory experience is both objective and subjective at the same time whereas other conscious experiences such as those of emotions and judgments are subjective but not objective. For this purpose, we note the neuroscience finding that it is necessary and sufficient that one’s brain (a quantum system) builds a neural record which is a faithful representation of the sensory input it receives from the outside world, for one to have the corresponding conscious sensory experience.

A holographic bound on the total number of computations in the visible universe

Information I in holographic imaging of massive particles by star-like screens is shown to represent the probability of detection based on their propagator. Results are derived for screens in the shape of a plane, cube and sphere from unitarity in the exponentially small transition probability for a detection outside. We derive I = 2πΔφ in log 2 bits for the imaging of a particle by a spherical screen at a relative de Broglie phase Δφ. Encoding mass, charge, angular momentum or radiation requires at minimum four bits. Minimal screens at maximal information density hereby recover Reissner–Nordström and extremal Kerr black holes. Applied to the visible Universe, the Hubble flow of galaxies through the cosmological event horizon leaves 10121 computations in the future.

Internally electrodynamic particle model: Its experimental basis and its predictions

The internally electrodynamic (IED) particle model was derived based on overall experimental observations, with the IED process itself being built directly on three experimental facts, a) electric charges present with all material particles, b) an accelerated charge generates electromagnetic waves according to Maxwell's equations and Planck energy equation and c) source motion produces Doppler effect. A set of well-known basic particle equations and properties become predictable based on first principles solutions for the IED process; several key solutions achieved are outlined, including the de Broglie phase wave, de Broglie relations, Schr\"odinger equation, mass, Einstein mass-energy relation, Newton's law of gravity, single particle self interference, and electromagnetic radiation and absorption; these equations and properties have long been broadly experimentally validated or demonstrated. A specific solution also predicts the Doebner-Goldin equation which emerges to represent a form of long-sought quantum wave equation including gravity. A critical review of the key experiments is given which suggests that the IED process underlies the basic particle equations and properties not just sufficiently but also necessarily.

The wave properties of matter and the zeropoint radiation field

The origin of the wave properties of matter is discussed from the point of view of stochastic electrodynamics. A nonrelativistic model of a charged particle with an effective structure embedded in the random zeropoint radiation field reveals that the field induces a high-frequency vibration on the particle; internal consistency of the theory fixes the frequency of this jittering at mc2/ħ. The particle is therefore assumed to interact intensely with stationary zeropoint waves of this frequency as seen from its proper frame of reference; such waves, identified here as de Broglie's phase waves, give rise to a modulated wave in the laboratory frame, with de Broglie's wavelength and phase velocity equal to the particle velocity. The time-independent equation that describes this modulated wave is shown to be the stationary Schrodinger equation (or the Klein-Gordon equation in the relativistic version). In a heuristic analysis appled to simple periodic cases, the quantization rules are recovered from the assumption that for a particle in a stationary state there must correspond a stationary modulation.

Atomic interferometry with internal state labelling

It is shown that the interaction geometry comprising four travelling laser waves which is used to obtain optical Ramsey fringes in atomic spectroscopy, is also well suited to build an atom interferometer based on the atomic recoil. Since two different internal states are associated with the two arms of the interferometer, the de Broglie phase, induced by rotation or acceleration, manifests itself as a frequency shift of the Ramsey fringes.

A particle-wave steering mechanism

A freely-moving electron cannot emit a photon, but it can emit a tachyon. If the momentum transfer in this process is small, then the tachyon travels forward at the de Broglie phase velocity. This suggests a particle-wave steering mechanism, with an exchange of momentum between the electron and its de Broglie phase wave. Using this steering mechanism, we calculate the electron trajectories in a virtual-double-slit experiment. These calculations demonstrate the distinction between channel trapping and channel focusing. The trajectories obtained here are different from the double-slit deterministic trajectories calculated using the de Broglie-Bohm quantum potential.

A dynamical basis for the de Broglie phase wave

Using the kinematic equations of perturbative special relativity (PSR), which are valid in the limit of small momentum transfers, we derive the particle-wave velocity equationvw = c2, thereby providing a dynamical basis for the de Broglie phase wave. This same PSR calculation also demonstrates that 1) the phase wave is accurately planar, and 2) the quanta of the phase wave are tachyons.

Explaining electron diffraction?De Broglie or Schr�dinger?

It is shown that the fact that an electron diffraction or interference pattern is not dependent on observer movement may be explained by de Broglie's phase waves, but cannot be explained by Schrodinger waves.

De Broglie phase waves, of a truck?

First Page

Two Energy Types in Wave Motion and Their Relation to Group and Wave Velocity

The energy of an element in a wave motion can be of two kinds: first, non-interactive like the energy of a set of independent pendulum bobs, and second, interactive like the potential energy of an element of a stretched string which is dependent only on the relative position of the neighboring elements. In the former case the group velocity is zero, and in the latter it equals the wave velocity. The slowing down of energy transmission in intermediate cases is discussed qualitatively and the ratio of group to wave velocity is calculated quantitatively in a number of cases on the assumption that the energy propagation is given not only by the product of energy density and group velocity, but also by the product of twice the interactive energy density and wave velocity. A general relation is suggested without proof for the connection between energy types and the ratio of group to wave velocity. The same ideas are applied to de Broglie's phase waves, the group velocity of which is the particle velocity.