Quantum mechanics is the square root of a stochastic process

Abstract

We prove a theorem showing that quantum mechanics is not directly a stochastic process characterizing Brownian motion but rather its square root. This implies that a complex-valued stochastic process is involved. Schr\"odinger equation is immediately derived without further assumptions using It\=o integrals that are properly generalized. Fluctuations in space arise from a Brownian motion and the combined effect of a stochastic process with a symmetric Bernoulli distribution typical of tossing a coin.