English

The problem of time in quantum mechanics

Quantum Physics 2017-04-05 v2

Abstract

The problem of time in quantum mechanics concerns the fact that in the Schr\"odinger equation time is a parameter, not an operator. Pauli's objection to a time-energy uncertainty relation analogue to the position-momentum one, conjectured by Heisenberg early on, seemed to exclude the existence of such an operator. However Dirac's formulation of electron's relativistic quantum mechanics (RQM) does allow the introduction of a dynamical time operator that is self-adjoint. Consequently, it can be considered as the generator of a unitary transformation of the system,as well as an additional system observable subject to uncertainty. In the present paper these aspects are examined within the standard framework of RQM.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1606.02618,
  title  = {The problem of time in quantum mechanics},
  author = {M. Bauer},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1606.02618},
  year   = {2017}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-22T14:20:42.309Z