Stochastic-quantum comparison through a stochastic experiment

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1976

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Abstract

A frictionless stochastic experiment was used (14) to exhibit (1-4) a counter example to the proposal by several investigators that Quantum phenomena are equivalent to stochastic processes. Here is another stochastic experiment used to investigate these proposals. Damping is included in our experiment and the initial positions and velocities of the particles are random. First we show that the description of a stochastic process provided by Langevin's equation can produce the dispersion of velocities and positions predicted by Quantum theory. This result encouraged us to further test the hypothesis of stochastic quantum equivalence by attempting to reproduce the experimentally observed phenomena of diffraction of a molecular beam through a wide slit. The results of this computer experiment failed to match the observed diffraction pattern. Possible reasons for this are discussed, but our final conclusion is that the stochastic process does not duplicate the prediction of quantum theory.

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