Reappraisal of the causal interpretation of quantum mechanics and of the quantum potential concept

Abstract

The causal interpretation of quantum mechanics, as originally stated by deBroglie and Bohm, had several attractive features. Among these is the possibility that it could address some of the most fundamental questions on quantum phenomena. However, subsequent theoretical conjectures, which have now been included in the orthodox view of the deBroglie Bohm theory, are unphysical and have done much to undermine the original theory's appeal. We, therefore, return to the original theory as our starting point and address one of its perplexing areas: the quantum potential. By avoiding the unphysical conjectures we are led to an understanding of the quantum potential which is distinctly different from that of the orthodox deBroglie Bohm view.