Is there any redeeming value in this article by E.T. Jaynes suggesting that free electrons localize into wave packets of charge density?
The idea, near as I can tell, is that the spreading solution of the wave equation is non-physical because “zitterbewegung”, high-frequency oscillations, generate a net-attractive force that holds the wave packet together. (This is Jaynes holding out the hope of resurrecting Schrödinger’s charge density interpretation of the wave equation.)
I don’t have time to read it right now, but I suggest that unless it accounts for how a charge density can be complex, it doesn’t really help. The problem is not to come up with some physical interpretation of the wave mechanics; if that were all, the problem would have been solved in the twenties. The difficulty is to explain the complex metric.
Is there any redeeming value in this article by E.T. Jaynes suggesting that free electrons localize into wave packets of charge density?
The idea, near as I can tell, is that the spreading solution of the wave equation is non-physical because “zitterbewegung”, high-frequency oscillations, generate a net-attractive force that holds the wave packet together. (This is Jaynes holding out the hope of resurrecting Schrödinger’s charge density interpretation of the wave equation.)
I don’t have time to read it right now, but I suggest that unless it accounts for how a charge density can be complex, it doesn’t really help. The problem is not to come up with some physical interpretation of the wave mechanics; if that were all, the problem would have been solved in the twenties. The difficulty is to explain the complex metric.