Development of the Wave-function of light

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The Development of the Wave-function of Light.

The new interpretation of special relativity means events do not have local independence, that is they are not limited to respond only to conditions existing in their immediate spatial neighbourhood. Now events are governed by proper interval locality, where conditions in spatially remote systems can affect a local event provided that the proper interval between the event and the influencing system has zero magnitude.
In the standard space-time diagram the region of proper interval locality associated with a given event is identified as the light cone. Conditions anywhere on the light cone can affect what happens at the apex event and conversely the conditions at the apex event can influence what happens to remote quantum systems as their world-lines intersect the light cone. This relationship is responsible for much of the seemingly strange and counter intuitive elements of quantum mechanics.

The Response Frequency of a Quantum System

Light is associated with changes of energy levels in atoms, the simplest of atoms, hydrogen, has sufficient energy levels to generate over a hundred spectral lines. The change in total energy of an atom when it absorbs or emits energy has associated with it a wave function whose frequency is related to the change in the amount of energy in the atom according to Planck’s equation.

E = hn

Conventionally this energy is required to be carried by a particle, our new analysis of special relativity and Minkowski space-time shows the idea of a carrier particle to be redundant; atoms exchange energy directly via the zero interval paths. Though we have eliminated the particle our new interpretation must still explain why light has a wave-function. Regardless of how light energy is propagated the atom must potentially respond to energy exchange stimuli at the frequencies defined by Planck’s equation.

The coupling of the susceptibility of the atom to react to external stimuli at specific frequencies and the proper interval locality property of space-time allows the development of a non substantive wav-function that determines the probability distribution for where in the universe the atom will find another object to interact with.

At any time along its world-line an atom will develop a family of wave-functions. These will depend on it existing energy level and what permitted energies it can absorb or emit.
The wave-function family is split into two types one controlling where the atom can find donor objects and the other governing to where the atom can donate energy.
The absorption wave-functions will search for donors on the atoms past light cone and the emitter wave-functions will look for absorbers on its future light cone.

Diagram 5

In diagram 5 the future and past light cones are drawn from event (0, 0). For all events on the light cones the interval to (0, 0) collapses. So the region of space-time defined by the light cones has proper interval locality with the event (0, 0). Conditions on the light cone can affect what happens at (0, 0) and the state of (0, 0) can affect what happens anywhere on the light cone.

An atom at (0, 0) may directly absorb energy from quantum systems from where their world-lines intersect the past light cone or donate energy to quantum systems where their world-lines intersect the future light cone.

Let us now consider a hydrogen atom, atom A, which is at rest with respect to our reference frame and placed at X = 0. Let the atom be excited and trying to donate a package of energy E. The atom will be therefore looking on its forward light cone for quantum systems that are susceptible to absorbing energy at an E/h frequency. Similarly Atom B that is say in its ground state will feel along its past light cone for quantum systems that can donate the quantity of energy E.

.................Diagram 6a....................................Diagram 6b

In diagram 6a a sine wave is drawn following the path of atom A. The frequency of the sine wave represents the frequency at which atom A will be induced to donate its energy of excitation. Therefore the sine wave has a frequency of DE/h where DE is the difference between the energy held by the atom before and after it has interacted with another quantum system. The phase of the sine wave will depend on the state of the donating electron in the atom prior to the interaction. It is important to recognise that nothing is actually waving prior to the interaction. The wave simple tells us how the atom may interact with another system and consequently determines the spatial distribution of the probability of finding an amenable quantum system with which to interact. Diagram 6b illustrates the absorber case.

All events on a light cone have zero interval separation to the apex of the cone. The light cone as depicted in the space-time diagram collapses to a single point in “real” space-time. If this is true then the converse must also be true; The event at the apex of the light cone, (0, 0) will expand to fill the light cone in the space-time diagram. It follows that each event on the temporal development of the sine wave governing the potential interactions of atom A will also be expanded to fill its corresponding light cones.
Proper interval locality now enables the whole light cone to hold information about the condition of atom A at (0, 0).

The diagram illustrates the presence of the waveform at positions X and –X. It is important to note that for all events on the light cone our phantom waveform (lets call it a “spook:) has the same phase, this gives it some interesting characteristics that cause it to have a close association with Cramer’s transactional interpretation and the Wheeler-Feynman absorber theory.

The spook waveform that develops on the future light cone is a retarded wave that is it appears to emerge from the atom. This waveform governs the donation of energy from the atom. The waveform developed on the past light cone is an advanced wave that is it appears to converge on the atom. These waveforms govern the absorption and emission of energy by the atom.


If two atoms are to interact then the energy DE that can be emitted from the donor atom must be equal to the energy that can be assimilated by the absorber atom. The response frequency of the atoms being DE/h. Relative to the space-time diagram gridline system the atoms will appear to develop wave-functions, a retarded spook wave-form developed by the donor atom and an advanced wave-form developed by the absorber atom. The frequency of the wave-functions of course being DE/h.
For an interaction to occur between the two atomic systems the phasing and frequency of their respective wave-functions must coincide at events on their world-lines that are separated by an interval of zero magnitude. The situation is illustrated in diagram 7.

We can now begin to examine the implications of proper interval locality for some specific experimental set-ups.

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