Time as an operator/observable in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics

Abstract

The nonrelativistic Schroedinger equation for motion of a structureless particle in four-dimensional space-time entails a well-known expression for the conserved four-vector field of local probability density and current that are associated with a quantum state solution to the equation. Under the physical assumption that each spatial, as well as the temporal, component of this current is observable, the position in time becomes an operator and an observable in that the weighted average value of the time of the particle's crossing of a complete hyperplane can be simply defined: ... When the space-time coordinates are (t,x,y,z), the paper analyzes in detail the case that the hyperplane is of the type z=constant. Particles can cross such a hyperplane in either direction, so it proves convenient to introduce an indefinite metric, and correspondingly a sesquilinear inner product with non-Hilbert space structure, for the space of quantum states on such a surface. >... A detailed formalism for computing average crossing times on a z=constant hyperplane, and average dwell times and delay times for a zone of interaction between a pair of z=constant hyperplanes, is presented.

31 pages, no figures. Differs from published version by minor corrections and additions, and two citations

References in corpus (4)

• Unified time analysis of photon and (nonrelativistic) particle Tunnelling, and the Superluminal group-velocity problem
• A measurement-based approach to quantum arrival times
• Schroedinger equation for joint bidirectional motion in time
• Characteristic times in one dimensional scattering

Cited by in corpus (4)

• On the quantum analogue of Galileo's leaning tower experiment
• Strong quantum violation of the gravitational weak equivalence principle by a non-Gaussian wave-packet
• Quantum time of flight distribution for cold trapped atoms
• Bohmian approach to spin-dependent time of arrival for particles in a uniform field and for particles passing through a barrier