Related papers: Conceptual Problems Related to Time and Mass in Qu…
This essay examines our fundamental conceptions of time, spacetime, the asymmetry of time, and the motion of a quantum mechanical particle. The concept of time has multiple meanings and these are often confused in the literature and must be…
Some notes and questions about the concept of time are exposed. Particular reference is given to the problem in quantum mechanics, in connection with the indeterminacy principle.
In quantum gravity there is no notion of absolute time. Like all other quantities in the theory, the notion of time has to be introduced "relationally", by studying the behavior of some physical quantities in terms of others chosen as a…
Time is absolute in standard quantum theory and dynamical in general relativity. The combination of both theories into a theory of quantum gravity leads therefore to a "problem of time". In my essay I shall investigate those consequences…
The concept of time as used in various applications and interpretations of quantum theory is briefly reviewed.
The notions of time in the theories of Newton and Einstein are reviewed so that certain of their assumptions are clarified. These assumptions will be seen as the causes of the incompatibility between the two different ways of understanding…
We review Bohr's reasoning in the Bohr-Einstein debate on the photon box experiment. The essential point of his reasoning leads us to an uncertainty relation between the proper time and the rest mass of the clock. It is shown that this…
I suggest that measurement in quantum theory should be regarded as a sense of time (of things happening), which is as important as the conventional relativistic notion of time. A key question -- of basic physical interest whether one…
The problem of time in quantum gravity occurs because `time' is taken to have a different meaning in each of general relativity and ordinary quantum theory. This incompatibility creates serious problems with trying to replace these two…
Quantum Theory, similar to Relativity Theory, requires a new concept of space-time, imposed by a universal constant. While velocity of light $c$ not being infinite calls for a redefinition of space-time on large and cosmological scales,…
The quantization of time-reparametrization invariant systems such as general relativity is plagued by an ambiguity relating to the role of time in the theory. If one parametrizes observables by the (unobservable) time, and then relies on…
The a priori time in conventional quantum mechanics is shown to contradict the uncertainty principle. A possible solution is given.
A modification of the covariant theory is proposed in which the self-energy of the system, corresponding to time-like degrees of freedom in the configuration space, preserves the classical law of change in quantum theory. As a result,…
This work discloses some inconsistencies of quantum mechanics (QM) in two different contexts. On the one hand the equivalence principle in his two formulations is the starting point of all gravitational theories; yet there is no way to make…
I give a review of the conceptual issues that arise in theories of quantum cosmology. I start by emphasising some features of ordinary quantum theory that also play a crucial role in understanding quantum cosmology. I then give motivations…
Quantum theory depends on an external classical time, and there ought to exist an equivalent reformulation of the theory which does not depend on such a time. The demand for the existence of such a reformulation suggests that quantum theory…
We give a review of concepts related to connection of classical and quantum theories, from the phase space perspective. Quantum theory is described by non-commutative operators of coordinates and momenta, results in values having a certain…
First, I briefly review the different conceptions of time held by three rival interpretations of quantum theory: the collapse of the wave-packet, the pilot-wave interpretation, and the Everett interpretation (Section 2). Then I turn to a…
The concepts of space, time, and matter are of central importance in any theory of the gravitational field. Here I discuss the role that these concepts might play in quantum theories of gravity. To be concrete, I will focus on the most…
"Time" has different meanings in classical general relativity and in quantum theory. While all choices of a time function yield the same local classical geometries, quantum theories built on different time functions are not unitarily…