Quantum Mechanics and Relativity.

[dromero]

QM is not being in the actuality my main area, but I always have listened around that QM is incompatible, as a theory, with General/Special Relativity. I've been reading several other materials across the net, but I'm not able to get it entirely. What can you say about this?

Sorry for my english, thanks for your answers.

 

[Hans de Vries]

QM is not being in the actuality my main area, but I always have listened around that QM is incompatible, as a theory, with General/Special Relativity. I've been reading several other materials across the net, but I'm not able to get it entirely. What can you say about this?

The "Standard Model", the quantum field theory governing the electromagnetic, strong and weak nuclear forces is entirely Lorentz invariant. That is, 100% compatible with Special Relativity.

As for the compatibility between the Standard Model and General Relativity, there is the issue of different concepts, fields versus curvature, as well as unresolved non-renormalizability issues.


Regards, Hans

 

[blechman]

Quantum Mechanics (that is, the theory arising from Schrödinger's equation) is not Lorentz invariant. You can see this right away, since the equation is first order in time but second order in space. It IS Galilean-invariant, however (just like Newton).

If you are interested in the relativistic regime, you must give up on Schrödinger and use "Relativistic QM" of Dirac/Klein-Gordan/etc. This is where Quantum Field Theory comes into play, such as the Standard Model of particle physics.