A Non-Causal Reconceptualization of Quantum Field Theory

Abstract

Quantum field theory currently has a single standard mathematical characterization (the Standard Model), but no single accepted conceptual framework to interpret the mathematics. Many of these conceptualizations rely on intuitive concepts carried over from classical physics (such as "particle" and "causality"). In this paper, instead of relying on classical concepts we attempt to infer a conceptualization directly from the mathematics. This reconceptualization leads to a physical reinterpretation of the paths involved in the Standard Model's action integral as traces of an accumulative process that occurs within an "extraverse", of which our observable spacetime is a single "slice". We briefly outline a rigorous mathematical model which validates the physical reinterpretation, and leads to predictions that are potentially verifiable by experiment. We contrast our model with other popular interpretations of quantum mechanics. We describe some of the metaphysical consequences of our proposed perspective. Finally we present some speculations about an alternative approach that could possibly lead to a more satisfying, intuitively-graspable theory.