I asked chatGPT to write a post on unresolved problems in QM and this is what came out:
Artificial Intelligence is now attacking major unsolved problems in mathematics. But what about quantum mechanics (QM), where fundamental problems have remained unresolved for a century?
QM is celebrated as the most successful theory of physics. Yet its mathematical formulation is notoriously difficult to compute, its physical interpretation remains disputed, and many complex phenomena cannot be predicted directly from its fundamental equations without substantial additional modeling.
Is quantum mechanics waiting for an AI breakthrough?
Consider ten challenges:
Many-electron systems: Can the exponential complexity of conventional many-body wavefunctions be avoided?
The periodic table: Can the sequence 2, 8, 8, 18, 18, 32, ... emerge constructively from electron–nucleus interactions?
Chemical bonding: Can formation and breaking of chemical bonds be computed dynamically in three-dimensional space?
Electrical conduction: Can conductivity and resistance be computed directly from microscopic electron dynamics?
Superconductivity: Can unconventional superconductivity be explained and predicted from first principles?
Measurement: How does a quantum wavefunction produce a definite observed outcome?
Classical mechanics: How does classical physics emerge from quantum dynamics?
Dissipation: How does irreversible macroscopic behavior arise from reversible microscopic equations?
Protein folding: Can folding dynamics be computed directly from atomic interactions?
Electromagnetic coupling: Can electron dynamics and electromagnetic fields be computed together efficiently?
These are not all completely unexplained phenomena. Standard QM offers powerful partial answers and successful approximations. What remains missing is a generally applicable, computationally feasible description connecting microscopic equations directly to complex physical observations.
AI Mathematics Versus AI Physics
AI mathematics starts from given equations and seeks proofs of mathematical statements.
AI physics faces a more fundamental task: starting from observed phenomena, discover equations and computational algorithms capable of explaining and predicting them.
AI mathematics asks: Can we prove a theorem within an existing theory?
AI physics asks: Can we construct a better theory of physical reality?
The second question may be more consequential than the first.
RealQM: A Challenge for AI
Real Quantum Mechanics (RealQM) proposes an alternative computational foundation based on electron charge densities evolving in ordinary three-dimensional space according to time-dependent partial differential equations with moving free boundaries.
Its objective is to replace the exponentially complex configuration-space description of standard many-electron QM by a constructive model with computational work scaling linearly with the number of electrons.
To see what RealQM delivers on challenges 1-10 go to The World as Computation. Discover that all 1-10 are addressed. Give your evaluation in comments below.
