TY - JOUR

T1 - Free fall in KvN mechanics and Einstein's principle of equivalence

AU - Sen, Abhijit

AU - Dhasmana, Shailesh

AU - Silagadze, Zurab K.

PY - 2020/11/1

Y1 - 2020/11/1

N2 - The implementation of Einstein's principle of equivalence in Koopman–von Neumann (KvN) mechanics is discussed. The implementation is very similar to the implementation of this principle in quantum mechanics. This is not surprising, because KvN mechanics provides a Hilbert space formulation of classical mechanics that is very similar to the quantum mechanical formalism. Both in KvN mechanics and quantum mechanics, a propagator in a homogeneous gravitational field is simply related with a free propagator. As a result, the wave function in a homogeneous gravitational field in a freely falling reference frame differs from the free wave function only in phase. Fisher information, which quantifies our ability to estimate mass from coordinate measurements, does not depend on the magnitude of the homogeneous gravitational field, and this fact constitutes the formulation of Einstein's principle of equivalence, which is valid both in quantum mechanics and KvN mechanics.

AB - The implementation of Einstein's principle of equivalence in Koopman–von Neumann (KvN) mechanics is discussed. The implementation is very similar to the implementation of this principle in quantum mechanics. This is not surprising, because KvN mechanics provides a Hilbert space formulation of classical mechanics that is very similar to the quantum mechanical formalism. Both in KvN mechanics and quantum mechanics, a propagator in a homogeneous gravitational field is simply related with a free propagator. As a result, the wave function in a homogeneous gravitational field in a freely falling reference frame differs from the free wave function only in phase. Fisher information, which quantifies our ability to estimate mass from coordinate measurements, does not depend on the magnitude of the homogeneous gravitational field, and this fact constitutes the formulation of Einstein's principle of equivalence, which is valid both in quantum mechanics and KvN mechanics.

KW - SCHRODINGER-EQUATION

KW - QUANTUM-MECHANICS

KW - PARTICLE

KW - SYSTEMS

KW - GALILEO

KW - MOTION

KW - INTERFERENCE

KW - GEOMETRY

KW - GRAVITY

KW - TIME

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090561428&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.aop.2020.168302

DO - 10.1016/j.aop.2020.168302

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85090561428

VL - 422

JO - Annals of Physics

JF - Annals of Physics

SN - 0003-4916

M1 - 168302

ER -