Related papers: Conditional probabilities with Dirac observables a…
We discuss the construction of relational observables in time-reparametrization invariant quantum mechanics and we argue that their physical interpretation can be understood in terms of conditional probabilities, which are defined from the…
We have recently argued that if one introduces a relational time in quantum mechanics and quantum gravity, the resulting quantum theory is such that pure states evolve into mixed states. The rate at which states decohere depends on the…
We describe a method of construction of gauge-invariant operators (Dirac observables or ``evolving constants of motion'') from the knowledge of the eigenstates of the gauge generator in time-reparametrization invariant mechanical systems.…
The need for a time-shift invariant formulation of quantum theory arises from fundamental symmetry principles as well as heuristic cosmological considerations. Such a description then leaves open the question of how to reconcile global…
We have previously shown (arXiv:1912.00033) that three approaches to relational quantum dynamics -- relational Dirac observables, the Page-Wootters formalism and quantum deparametrizations -- are equivalent. Here we show that this `trinity'…
Identifying an appropriate set of ``observables'' is a nontrivial task for most approaches to quantum gravity. We describe how it may be accomplished in the context of a recently proposed family of stochastic (but classical) dynamical laws…
Gauge-invariant observables for quantum gravity are described, with explicit constructions given primarily to leading order in Newton's constant, analogous to and extending constructions first given by Dirac in quantum electrodynamics.…
Diffeomorphism-induced symmetry transformations and time evolution are distinct operations in generally covariant theories formulated in phase space. Time is not frozen. Diffeomorphism invariants are consequently not necessarily constants…
Quantum theory does not only predict probabilities, but also relative phases for any experiment, that involves measurements of an ensemble of systems at different moments of time. We argue, that any operational formulation of quantum theory…
The "problem of time" in canonical quantum gravity refers to the difficulties involved in defining a Hilbert space structure on states -- and local observables on this Hilbert space -- for a theory in which the spacetime metric is treated…
We discuss a systematic way in which a relational dynamics can be established relative to periodic clocks both in the classical and quantum theories, emphasising the parallels between them. We show that: (1) classical and quantum relational…
In the canonical approach to general relativity it is customary to parametrize the phase space by initial data on spacelike hypersurfaces. However, if one seeks a theory dealing with observations that can be made by a single localized…
We give an explicit, rigorous framework for calculating quantum probabilities in a model theory of quantum gravity. Specifically, we construct the decoherence functional for the Wheeler-DeWitt quantization of a flat…
Since the advent of quantum mechanics we have mainly been concerned with its predictions from the perspective of an external observer. This is in strong contrast to the theory of general relativity, where the physics is governed by the…
One of the most fundamental open problems in physics is the unification of general relativity and quantum theory to a theory of quantum gravity. An aspect that might become relevant in such a theory is that the dynamical nature of causal…
The use of a relational time in quantum mechanics is a framework in which one promotes to quantum operators all variables in a system, and later chooses one of the variables to operate like a ``clock''. Conditional probabilities are…
Canonical vacuum gravity is expressed in generally-covariant form in order that spacetime diffeomorphisms be represented within its equal-time phase space. In accordance with the principle of general covariance, the time mapping ${\T}:…
We give an overview of some conceptual difficulties, sometimes called paradoxes, that have puzzled for years the physical interpetation of classical canonical gravity and, by extension, the canonical formulation of generally covariant…
We analyze the quantization of dynamical systems that do not involve any background notion of space and time. We give a set of conditions for the introduction of an intrinsic time in quantum mechanics. We show that these conditions are a…
In it's usual presentation, classical mechanics appears to give time a very special role. But it is well known that mechanics can be formulated so as to treat the time variable on the same footing as the other variables in the extended…