Quantum mechanics in terms of discrete beables

Abstract

An interpretation of quantum mechanics in terms of classical concepts, ‘‘beables,’’ due to de Broglie, Bohm, and Bell (BBB) is generalized and further developed. By assuming that all physical quantities take discrete values on sufficiently small scales, we can use this interpretation to give trajectories for all possible quantities, including the position of a particle, its spin, etc. When applied to position, it is shown that, in the continuum limit, this interpretation reduces to the causal one of Bohm. As an illustration, the BBB trajectories are computed explicitly in two simple models.