Related papers: A general perspective on time observables
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 theory of measurement is employed to elucidate the physical basis of general relativity. For measurements involving phenomena with intrinsic length or time scales, such scales must in general be negligible compared to the (translational…
We present 2 recent results on the problems of time and observables in canonical gravity. (1) We cannot use parametrized field theory to solve the problem of time because, strictly speaking, general relativity is not a parametrized field…
We demonstrate that temporal observables, which are sensitive to a system's history (as opposed to its state), implicate entangled histories. We exemplify protocols for measuring such observables, and algorithms for predicting the…
A cosmological time variable is emerged from the hamiltonian formulation of unimodular theory of gravity to measure the evolution of dynamical observables in the theory. A set of constants of motion has been identified for the theory on the…
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…
If gravity respects quantum mechanics, it is important to identify the essential postulates of a quantum framework capable of incorporating gravitational phenomena. Such a construct likely requires elimination or modification of some of the…
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…
The relativistic conception of space and time is challenged by the quantum nature of physical observables. It has been known for a long time that Poincar\'e symmetry of field theory can be extended to the larger conformal symmetry. We use…
The research effort reported in this paper is directed, in a broad sense, towards understanding the small-scale structure of spacetime. The fundamental question that guides our discussion is ``what is the physical content of spacetime…
In the early 2000s, the study of time operators advanced as one of the methods to understand the problem of time as mathematical science. However, the starting point for the time operator is to understand time as a problem of observation…
Beginning with the principle that a closed mechanical composite system is timeless, time can be defined by the regular changes in a suitable position coordinate (clock) in the observing part, when one part of the closed composite observes…
The treatment of time in relativity does not conform to that in quantum theory. In the context of quantum gravity this is called "the problem of time". A crucial difference is that time $t$ may be seen as an observable in relativity theory,…
The Hamiltonian constraint system is the canonical formulation of a physical system with a Hamiltonian constrained to vanish. In terms of the canonical variables, we define what we call reference observable, with respect to which other…
We consider the classical concept of time of permanence and observe that its quantum equivalent is described by a bona fide self-adjoint operator. Its interpretation, by means of the spectral theorem, reveals that we have to abandon not…
It is proposed that spacetime should be regarded as an evolving block universe, bounded to the future by the present time, which continually extends to the future. This future boundary is defined at each time by measuring proper time along…
The failure of conventional quantum theory to recognize time as an observable and to admit time operators is addressed. Instead of focusing on the existence of a time operator for a given Hamiltonian, we emphasize the role of the…
It is unclear whether an observable notion of time exists in quantum gravity even in principle because spacetime itself fluctuates. We propose a form of observable time in perturbative quantum gravity. First, we define an elapsed proper…
Quantum mechanics rests on the assumption that time is a classical variable. As such, classical time is assumed to be measurable with infinite accuracy. However, all real clocks are subject to quantum fluctuations, which leads to the…
We address the problem of observables in generally invariant spacetime theories such as Einstein's general relativity. Using the refined notion of an event as a ``point-coincidence'' between scalar fields that completely characterise a…