Quantum Motion on Shape Space and the Gauge Dependent Emergence of Dynamics and Probability in Absolute Space and Time

Understand

Relational formulations of classical mechanics and gravity have been developed by Julian Barbour and collaborators.

• Crucial to these formulations is the notion of shape space.
• We indicate here that the metric structure of shape space allows one to straightforwardly define a quantum motion, a Bohmian mechanics, on shape space.
• We show how this motion gives rise to the more or less familiar theory in absolute space and time.