A study of the Lorentz-Dirac equation in complex space-time for clues to emergent quantum mechanics

Spectel, Palo Alto

A hypothetical equation of motion is proposed for Kerr-Newman particles. It is obtained by analytic continuation of the Lorentz-Dirac equation into complex space-time. The goal is to study the implications of this theory for emergent quantum mechanics. A new class of “runaway” solutions are found which bear some similarity to the quantum phenomenon of Zitterbewegung. Other solutions incorporating external forces are also presented. The electromagnetic fields generated by these motions are studied. It is found that the retarded times are multisheeted functions of the field points. As a consequence, the solutions are not unique. A cloaking mechanism is found which inhibits electromagnetic radiation by combining the fields from several Riemann sheets for the retarded time. These results reinforce to some extent, but also pose additional conceptual questions for the idea that Kerr-Newman solutions provide insight into elementary particles and into emergent quantum mechanics.

Mark Davidson - Brief biography
Educated and trained in theoretical physics at the City U. of New York; the U. of Illinois, Urbana; UC, Berkeley; and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, he was a relatively early advocate of emergent quantum mechanics since the mid 1970s, and continues this work today as an independent scholar. He is also an applied physicist, inventor, and small entrepreneur in the semiconductor industry and related fields.