The Particle-Field Dual Ontology Is Not a Postulate of Natural Quantum Theory
I. Formulation of the Problem
Natural Quantum Theory (NQT) advocates for a Particle-Field Dual Ontology: every material entity is simultaneously a finite-sized particle and accompanied by a real physical field extending to infinity. This claim is often misunderstood as an additional assumption made by NQT—as if it were an artificial postulate introduced solely to resolve quantum paradoxes.
The reality is exactly the opposite. The Particle-Field Dual Ontology is not an assumption of NQT; it is a direct statement of experimental fact. It is, in fact, the theories that deny this duality that are making the assumptions.
II. Experimental Fact: Particles Have Finite Size
Measurements from Compton scattering and Mott scattering experiments indicate that the effective scattering scale of an electron is on the order of its Compton wavelength, not zero. This is not a result of theoretical derivation; it is a value given directly by experimental data.
Treating the electron as a mathematical point with no size is the actual theoretical assumption that requires justification—an assumption adopted for mathematical convenience that deviates from experimental facts. NQT simply refuses to make this fact-deviating assumption and honestly acknowledges that particles have finite size.
Similarly, the charge radius of the proton has been precisely measured (approximately 0.84 femtometers). Although the neutron is electrically neutral, it possesses a non-zero charge distribution and magnetic moment distribution. These are facts directly told to us by experiments: particles are not points; they are entities with structure and scale.
III. Experimental Fact: Fields Are Real and Extend to Infinity
Electromagnetic waves are received by antennas; gravitational waves are detected by LIGO. These are real physical oscillations of fields—carrying energy and momentum, capable of doing work, and recordable. No one claims that electromagnetic waves are merely "assumptions" or "mathematical tools"; they are the real dynamical behavior of the electromagnetic field.
Every charged particle is surrounded by an electromagnetic field; every massive particle is surrounded by a gravitational field. These fields decay according to Coulomb’s Law or Newton’s Law of Gravitation but, in principle, extend to infinity. This is not an assumption; it is a direct conclusion of Maxwell’s equations and General Relativity, and furthermore, a fact verified daily by countless experiments.
Neutrino oscillation experiments and measurements of weak interaction cross-sections further indicate that even neutrinos, which participate only in weak interactions, possess finite spatial extension and magnetic modulation coupling. The existence and extensibility of fields are not limited to electromagnetic interactions but permeate all fundamental interactions.
IV. So, What Does the Particle-Field Dual Ontology State?
It states nothing more than this: Particles have size, and fields are real. Both are experimental facts.
Combining these two yields the complete picture of the Particle-Field Dual Ontology: every material entity is both a localized, finite-sized particle and is accompanied by a real physical field extending to infinity. NQT adds nothing here. It simply takes two well-known experimental facts, places them together, and refuses to discard either for the sake of mathematical convenience.
It is traditional quantum mechanics that makes the extra assumptions:
It assumes particles are structureless mathematical points.
It assumes fields are merely carriers of operator algebra rather than physical reality.
It assumes the wave function is a probability amplitude rather than an approximate description of a real field.
These are the assumptions—and they are assumptions that exist in tension with experimental facts. It is precisely these assumptions that have manufactured a series of paradoxes: the mystification of wave-particle duality, the measurement problem, non-local entanglement, vacuum energy divergence, and issues regarding parity non-conservation.
V. Corroboration from the Mössbauer Effect, Zeeman Splitting, and Magnetic Resonance
If the Particle-Field Dual Ontology is merely a faithful statement of experimental facts, it must be consistent with various specific experimental phenomena. Indeed, it is.
The Mössbauer Effect: This involves the emission of gamma rays by atomic nuclei. NQT interprets this as a field radiation process over a finite time, where low-energy gamma rays allow the lattice to cooperatively absorb recoil. The entire process is a dynamical behavior of an extended field, not an instantaneous quantum jump.
Zeeman and Hyperfine Splitting: These arise from the statistical separation of different quantum configurations ( mJ ), stabilized by resonant locking.
Magnetic Resonance: This phenomenon inherently involves the coupling between a particle's magnetic moment and an external field. This is precisely the dynamical picture of a particle (finite-sized, possessing a magnetic moment) and a field (real, extended electromagnetic field) co-existing and interacting.
These experiments are not merely "evidence" for the Particle-Field Dual Ontology—they are the Particle-Field Dual Ontology itself. Every experiment tells us: there is a structured particle, existing within a real field, undergoing real dynamical processes.
VI. A Deeper Conjecture: The Field-Only Ontology
The Particle-Field Dual Ontology is a faithful and conservative statement of experimental facts. However, NQT further proposes a more radical conjecture: perhaps everything can ultimately be unified into a Field-Only Ontology.
If particles are merely stable localized excitations or topological structures of a field, then "particles" are not a separate category of ontology independent of the field, but simply a special state of the field. In this view, the ontology of physics simplifies further from a dualism to a monism: there is only the field in the world; particles are manifestations of the field.
This is the direction NQT speculates upon. Magnetic Ontology is a specific program within this conjecture:
All fermions possess magnetic moments.
Magnetism is an intrinsic attribute, not a derived one.
Gauge invariance originates from the degrees of freedom in choosing the direction of the magnetic moment.
Particle attributes such as mass, charge, and angular momentum can all be traced back to the internal structure of the field.
It must be emphasized: The Field-Only Ontology is currently a conjecture, not an established fact. The relationship between the Particle-Field Dual Ontology and the Field-Only Ontology is analogous to that between an empirical law and a unified theory—the former is determined by current experiments, while the latter is the direction of theoretical exploration. NQT honestly distinguishes these two levels: at the axiomatic level, it adheres to experimental facts (Particle-Field Dual Ontology); at the conjectural level, it pursues deeper unification (Field-Only Ontology).
VII. Conclusion
The Particle-Field Dual Ontology is not an assumption of Natural Quantum Theory, just as the electron’s intrinsic spin angular momentum being 1ℏ is not an assumption of NQT. They are both direct inferences from experimental facts.
The work of NQT is not to invent new assumptions, but to reject those old assumptions that contradict experimental facts and return to what the experiments themselves tell us. On this basis, NQT further conjectures that everything may be unified into a Field-Only Ontology, with Magnetic Ontology serving as the specific program to reach this goal.
From experimental facts, to the Particle-Field Dual Ontology (Axiom), and finally to the Field-Only Ontology (Conjecture)—every step in this path is clear, testable, and physically transparent.