Skip to page content
Return to Top

Marlan Scully - Texas A&M University

Marlan Scully

Marlan Scully - Texas A&M, Princeton, and Baylor

Short Bio

Invited Talk

Title: Paths into the Schrodinger Equation via Classical and Quantum Field Theories

Abstract:

The time-dependent Schrödinger equation is a cornerstone of quantum physics and governs all phenomena of the microscopic world. However, despite its importance its origin is still not widely appreciated and properly understood. We obtain the Schrödinger equation in two ways: 1) from classical statistical mechanics based on the Hamilton-Jacobi equation[1] and 2) by showing the deep sense in which the Maxwell equations for the photon are very analogous to the Schrödinger equation for the electron and/or the neutrino.[2]


[1] W.P. Schleich, D. M. Greenberger, et al., "From classical to quantum matter waves," submitted PNAS.

[2] M.O. Scully and M.S. Zubairy, Quantum Optics, Cambridge University Press 1997