In Search of Cosmic Time: Complete Observables and the Clock Hypothesis
Abstract
This paper considers a new and deeply challenging face of the problem of time in the context of cosmology drawing on the work of Thiemann (2006, 2007). Thiemann argues for a radical response to the cosmic problem of time that requires us to modify the classical Friedmann equations. By contrast, we offer a conservative proposal for solution of the problem by bringing together ideas from the contemporary literature regarding reference frames (Bamonti 2023; Bamonti and Gomes 2024), complete observables (Gryb and Th\'ebault 2016b; Gryb and Th\'ebault 2023), and the model-based account of time measurement (Tal 2016). On our approach, we must reinterpret our criteria of observability in light of the clock hypothesis and the model-based account of measurement in order to preserve the Friedmann equations as the dynamical equations for the universe.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2411.00541,
title = {In Search of Cosmic Time: Complete Observables and the Clock Hypothesis},
author = {Nicola Bamonti and Karim P. Y. Thébault},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2411.00541},
year = {2025}
}