A representation of the wave function on the three-dimensional space

Abstract

One of the major concerns of Schrödinger, Lorentz, Einstein, and many others about the wave function is that it is defined on the $3\mathbf{N}$-dimensional configuration space, rather than on the $3$-dimensional physical space. This gives the impression that quantum mechanics cannot have a three-dimensional space or spacetime ontology, even in the absence of quantum measurements. In particular, this seems to affect interpretations which take the wave function as a physical entity, in particular the many worlds and the spontaneous collapse interpretations, and some versions of the pilot wave theory. Here, a representation of the many-particle states is given, as multi-layered fields defined on the $3$-dimensional physical space. This representation is equivalent to the usual representation on the configuration space, but it makes it explicit that it is possible to interpret the wave functions as defined on the physical space. As long as only unitary evolution is involved, the interactions are local. I intended this representation to capture and formalize the non-explicit and informal intuition of many working quantum physicists, who, by considering the wave function sometimes to be defined on the configuration space, and sometimes on the physical space, may seem to researchers in the foundations of quantum theory as adopting an inconsistent view about its ontology. This representation does not aim to solve the measurement problem, and it allows for Schrödinger cats just like the usual one. But it may help various interpretations to solve these problems, through inclusion of the wave function as (part of) their primitive ontology. In an appendix, it is shown how the multi-layered field representation can be extended to quantum field theory.