Linked e-resources
Details
Table of Contents
Preface; Contents; 1 Quantum Mechanics: Some Questions; 1.1 On Being Principled ... At Least on Sundays; Appendix A: The Ensemble Meaning of Probability; 1.1.1 The Sins of Quantum Mechanics; 1.2 The Two Basic Readings of the Quantum Formalism; 1.2.1 The Need for an Interpretation; 1.2.2 A Single System, or an Ensemble of Them?; 1.3 Is Realism Still Alive?; 1.4 What is this Book About?; 1.4.1 The Underlying Hypothesis; 1.4.2 The System Under Investigation; References; 2 The Phenomenological Stochastic Approach: A Short Route to Quantum Mechanics.
2.1 Why a Phenomenological Approach to Quantum Mechanics?2.2 The Stochastic Description of Quantum Mechanics; 2.3 Stochastic Quantum Mechanics; 2.3.1 Kinematics; 2.3.2 Spatial Probability Density and Diffusive Velocity; 2.3.3 Dynamics; 2.3.4 Integrating the Equation of Motion; 2.3.5 Quantum and Classical Stochastic Processes; 2.4 On Schrödinger-Like Equations; 2.5 Stochastic Quantum Trajectories; 2.5.1 Wavelike Patterns; 2.6 Extensions of the Theory, Some Brief Comments, and Assessment; 2.6.1 A Summing Up; References.
3 The Planck Distribution, a Necessary Consequence of the Fluctuating Zero-Point Field3.1 Thermodynamics of the Harmonic Oscillator; 3.1.1 Unfolding the Zero-Point Energy; 3.2 General Thermodynamic Equilibrium Distribution; 3.2.1 Thermal Fluctuations of the Energy; 3.2.2 Some Consequences of the Recurrence Relation; 3.3 Planck's Law from the Thermostatistics of the Harmonic Oscillator; 3.3.1 General Statistical Equilibrium Distribution; 3.3.2 Mean Energy as Function of Temperature; Planck's Formula ; 3.4 Planck, Einstein and the Zero-Point Energy.
3.4.1 Comments on Planck's Original Analysis3.4.2 Einstein's Revolutionary Step; 3.4.3 Disclosing the Zero-Point Field; 3.5 Continuous Versus Discrete; 3.5.1 The Partition Function; 3.5.2 The Origin of Discreteness; 3.6 A Quantum Statistical Distribution; 3.6.1 Total Energy Fluctuations; 3.6.2 Quantum Fluctuations and Zero-Point Fluctuations; 3.6.3 Comments on the Reality of the Zero-Point Fluctuations; References; 4 The Long Journey to the Schrödinger Equation; 4.1 Elements of the Dynamics; 4.1.1 The Equation of Motion; 4.1.2 Basic Properties of the Zero-Point Field.
4.2 Generalized Fokker-Planck Equation in Phase Space4.2.1 Some Important Relations for Average Values; 4.3 Transition to Configuration Space; 4.3.1 A Digression: Transition to Momentum Space; 4.3.2 A Hierarchy of Coupled Transfer Equations; 4.4 The Schrödinger Equation; 4.4.1 The Radiationless Approximation; 4.4.2 Statistical and Quantum Averages; 4.4.3 Stationary Schrödinger Equation; 4.4.4 Detailed Energy Balance: The Entry Point for Planck's Constant; 4.4.5 Schrödinger's i; 4.5 Further Insights into the Quantum Description; 4.5.1 Fluctuations of the Momentum.
2.1 Why a Phenomenological Approach to Quantum Mechanics?2.2 The Stochastic Description of Quantum Mechanics; 2.3 Stochastic Quantum Mechanics; 2.3.1 Kinematics; 2.3.2 Spatial Probability Density and Diffusive Velocity; 2.3.3 Dynamics; 2.3.4 Integrating the Equation of Motion; 2.3.5 Quantum and Classical Stochastic Processes; 2.4 On Schrödinger-Like Equations; 2.5 Stochastic Quantum Trajectories; 2.5.1 Wavelike Patterns; 2.6 Extensions of the Theory, Some Brief Comments, and Assessment; 2.6.1 A Summing Up; References.
3 The Planck Distribution, a Necessary Consequence of the Fluctuating Zero-Point Field3.1 Thermodynamics of the Harmonic Oscillator; 3.1.1 Unfolding the Zero-Point Energy; 3.2 General Thermodynamic Equilibrium Distribution; 3.2.1 Thermal Fluctuations of the Energy; 3.2.2 Some Consequences of the Recurrence Relation; 3.3 Planck's Law from the Thermostatistics of the Harmonic Oscillator; 3.3.1 General Statistical Equilibrium Distribution; 3.3.2 Mean Energy as Function of Temperature; Planck's Formula ; 3.4 Planck, Einstein and the Zero-Point Energy.
3.4.1 Comments on Planck's Original Analysis3.4.2 Einstein's Revolutionary Step; 3.4.3 Disclosing the Zero-Point Field; 3.5 Continuous Versus Discrete; 3.5.1 The Partition Function; 3.5.2 The Origin of Discreteness; 3.6 A Quantum Statistical Distribution; 3.6.1 Total Energy Fluctuations; 3.6.2 Quantum Fluctuations and Zero-Point Fluctuations; 3.6.3 Comments on the Reality of the Zero-Point Fluctuations; References; 4 The Long Journey to the Schrödinger Equation; 4.1 Elements of the Dynamics; 4.1.1 The Equation of Motion; 4.1.2 Basic Properties of the Zero-Point Field.
4.2 Generalized Fokker-Planck Equation in Phase Space4.2.1 Some Important Relations for Average Values; 4.3 Transition to Configuration Space; 4.3.1 A Digression: Transition to Momentum Space; 4.3.2 A Hierarchy of Coupled Transfer Equations; 4.4 The Schrödinger Equation; 4.4.1 The Radiationless Approximation; 4.4.2 Statistical and Quantum Averages; 4.4.3 Stationary Schrödinger Equation; 4.4.4 Detailed Energy Balance: The Entry Point for Planck's Constant; 4.4.5 Schrödinger's i; 4.5 Further Insights into the Quantum Description; 4.5.1 Fluctuations of the Momentum.