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fruitfly
Aug4-04, 04:38 PM
In the transactional interpretation of quantum events, can the absorber and the emiter correspond to the same particle? Could an electron at time t1 for example, transfer a virtual photon to itself at time t2?

If this is the case, could this provide an explanation of why an electron does not lose energy as it orbits around an atomic nucleus? (by having the emited photons reabsorbed at future times).

selfAdjoint
Aug4-04, 05:15 PM
The absorbers are to be in the remote past and future. I don't see how the formalism can be adapted to you suggestion. It is essential that the waves be "reflected" from outside the system.

fruitfly
Aug4-04, 05:47 PM
But couldn't we regard the electron of the past and the electron of the future as a valid emiter/absorber pair?