Contextual Bohmian Quantum Field Theories: A Hylomorphic Approach to QFT

Journal article

We propose an extension of Bell-type Bohmian quantum field theories, called Contextual Bohmian Quantum Field Theory (CBQFT), which integrates micro-level dynamics and macro-level contextual structure within a unified, ontologically explicit formalism. CBQFT introduces classical variables that encode macroscopic contexts—such as detector configurations, thermal phases, or symmetry-breaking sectors—and allows these to modulate the underlying quantum dynamics in a lawlike way. We develop two versions of the model. CBQFT-1 treats context as a fixed but dynamically influential background, entering via a context-sensitive Hamiltonian and modified Bell-type jump rates on a single Fock space. CBQFT-2 upgrades context to a dynamical variable co-evolving with the particle (or field) configuration: selects a (typically inequivalent) representation of the field algebra on a Hilbert space, wavefunctions are realised as global sections of the resulting Hilbert bundle, and Bohmian trajectories are guided by globally well-defined velocity fields constructed from local currents. Context transitions in CBQFT-2 are governed by a stochastic kernel informed by particle (or field) configurations and histories. This yields a Bohmian QFT with an explicit feedback loop between quantum events and macroscopic structure, offering a hylomorphic account of measurement, decoherence, and top–down causation.

Authors: Simpson, WMR

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer
• Journal: Foundations of Physics
• Volume: 56
• Issue: 2
• Article number: 21
• Publication date: 2026-03-16
• Acceptance date: 2026-02-25
• DOI: 10.1007/s10701-026-00923-z
• EISSN: 1572-9516
• ISSN: 0015-9018
• Language: English
• Keywords: Bell-type quantum field theory; Bohmian mechanics; Hylomorphism; Bohmian quantum field theory; Hylomorphic primitive ontology approach