Sharp values for all dynamical variables via Anti-Wick quantization
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This paper proposes an approach to interpreting quantum expectation values that may help address the quantum measurement problem. Quantum expectation values are usually calculated via Hilbert space inner products and, thereby, differently from expectation values in classical mechanics, which are weighted phase-space integrals. It is shown that, by using Anti-Wick quantization to associate dynamical variables with self-adjoint linear operators, quantum expectation values can be interpreted as genuine weighted averages over phase space, paralleling their classical counterparts. This interpretation arises naturally in the Segal-Bargmann space, where creation and annihilation operators act as simple multiplication and differentiation operators. In this setting, the Husimi Q-function – the coherent-state representation of the quantum state – can be seen as a true probability density in phase space. Unlike Bohmian mechanics, the present approach retains the standard correspondence between dynamical variables and self-adjoint operators while paving the way for a classical-like probabilistic interpretation of quantum statistics.
Source: Physics Letters A
Author: Simon Friederich
Institution: University of Groningen
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,150
OpenAlex ID: W4416898193