An explanation of interference effects in the double slit experiment: Classical trajectories plus ballistic diffusion caused by zero-point fluctuations

Abstract

A classical explanation of interference effects in the double slit experiment is proposed. We claim that for every single "particle" a thermal context can be defined, which reflects its embedding within boundary conditions as given by the totality of arrangements in an experimental apparatus. To account for this context, we introduce a "path excitation field", which derives from the thermodynamics of the zero-point vacuum and which represents all possible paths a "particle" can take via thermal path fluctuations. The intensity distribution on a screen behind a double slit is calculated, as well as the corresponding trajectories and the probability density current. The trajectories are shown to obey a "no crossing" rule with respect to the central line, i.e., between the two slits and orthogonal to their connecting line. This agrees with the Bohmian interpretation, but appears here without the necessity of invoking the quantum potential.

26 pages, 6 figures; accepted version to be published in Annals of Physics (2012)

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