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PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv

Can a Local Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?

  • E. J. Thompson
  • J. W. Moffat
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Abstract

In a complete quantum theory, one would construct it based on what we can observe in a system and operationally define in our universe. This philosophy goes back to some of the original ideals of quantum theory defined by W. Heisenberg, N. Bohr, and others as part of the Copenhagen school of thought. We argue in this letter that that if one wishes to construct a complete quantum field theory, that it is most natural to construct it based on a nonlocal theory of observable principles. If this interpretation is valid, then the one-particle nonrelativistic limit that recovers quantum mechanics would as well be dynamically nonlocal. In this interpretation we derive the nonlocal Schrödinger equation. We will as well demonstrate that the canonical position--momentum commutator and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle emerge from translation covariance.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{thompson2026local,
  title = {{Can a Local Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?}},
  author = {E. J. Thompson and J. W. Moffat},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.05478},
  eprint = {2609.05478},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05478},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - Can a Local Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?
AU  - E. J. Thompson
AU  - J. W. Moffat
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/09
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.05478
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05478
AB  - In a complete quantum theory, one would construct it based on what we can observe in a system and operationally define in our universe. This philosophy goes back to some of the original ideals of quantum theory defined by W. Heisenberg, N. Bohr, and others as part of the Copenhagen school of thought. We argue in this letter that that if one wishes to construct a complete quantum field theory, that it is most natural to construct it based on a nonlocal theory of observable principles. If this interpretation is valid, then the one-particle nonrelativistic limit that recovers quantum mechanics would as well be dynamically nonlocal. In this interpretation we derive the nonlocal Schrödinger equation. We will as well demonstrate that the canonical position--momentum commutator and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle emerge from translation covariance.
ER  -