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arXiv · 2512.22320

A Time-Symmetric Variational Reformulation of Nonrelativistic Quantum Mechanics

Lance H. Carter
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Abstract

Standard quantum mechanics relies on two distinct dynamical principles: unitary evolution and collapse. A mathematically self-contained variational framework is presented that replaces this dualism with a single principle, in which nonrelativistic Schr\"odinger dynamics are not postulated but emerge as an admissible optimality condition of a primal-dual boundary-value problem. By expressing the state in terms of hydrodynamic variables $(\rho,\mathbf{j})$ subject to a continuity constraint, it is shown that Fisher-information regularization yields the linear Schr\"odinger equation within the admissible single-valued variational class. Rather than evolving an initial state forward in time, the dynamics arise from minimizing a global action that connects the initial and final boundary constraints, with the selected solution corresponding to a specific hydrodynamic flow within an ensemble of admissible histories. A von Neumann pointer model illustrates how Born-rule statistics for recorded outcomes arise without introducing a separate collapse law. Within this formulation, quantum uncertainty is interpreted as effective randomness over boundary-compatible histories rather than as a fundamental stochastic postulate. The resulting framework provides a nonrelativistic proof of concept for how a single time-symmetric variational reformulation can recover key features of quantum theory.

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Lance H. Carter. 2025-12-26. A Time-Symmetric Variational Reformulation of Nonrelativistic Quantum Mechanics. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.22320

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