Related papers: Problem of Time and Background Independence: the I…
The aim of this paper is to explain carefully the arguments behind the assertion that the correct quantum theory of gravity must be background independent. We begin by recounting how the debate over whether quantum gravity must be…
Independence -- the study of what is relevant to a given problem of reasoning -- has received an increasing attention from the AI community. In this paper, we consider two basic forms of independence, namely, a syntactic one and a semantic…
Recently, a thermodynamic definition of time has been introduced. This definition is useful to find approach some open problems in physics. But, it was obtained by a phenomenological approach and a logical inconsistency appears in the…
Since the main open problem of contemporary physics is to find a unified description of the four interactions, we present a possible scenario which, till now only at the classical level, is able to englobe experiments ranging from…
We draw a picture of physical systems that allows us to recognize what is this thing called "time" by requiring consistency not only with our notion of time but also with the way time enters the fundamental laws of Physics, independently of…
We provide a new perspective on the close relationship between entanglement and time. Our main focus is on bipartite entanglement, where this connection is foreshadowed both in the positive partial transpose criterion due to Peres [A.…
A practical way to deal with the problem of time in quantum cosmology and quantum gravity is proposed. The main tool is effective equations, which mainly restrict explicit considerations to semiclassical regimes but have the crucial…
The Problem of Time in Quantum Gravity is analyzed from a classical presymplectic perspective. In the first part of the paper the Three Space Approach to General Relativity is introduced via the Barbour-Foster-\'O Murchadha action and the…
The paper puts forward a conceptual framework in which the phenomenon of time can be presented and discussed in a proper way. We argue that change is ontologically and epistemologically a more basic phenomenon than time. Time is an abstract…
The nature of time as emergent for a system by separating it from its environment has been put forward by Page and Wootters [D. N. Page and W. K. Wootters, Phys. Rev. D 27, 2885 (1983)] in a quantum mechanical setting neglecting interaction…
The existence of small amounts of advanced radiation, or a tilt in the arrow of time, makes the basic equations of physics mixed-type functional differential equations. The novel features of such equations point to a microphysical structure…
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…
We briefly review two concepts of time - the usual time associated with "being" and more recent ideas, answering to the description of "becoming". The approximation involved in the former is examined. Finally we argue that it is…
This work explores the implications of assuming time symmetry and applying bridge-type, time-symmetric temporal boundary conditions to deterministic laws of nature with random components. The analysis, drawing on the works of Kolmogorov and…
We consider two concepts often discussed as significant features of general relativity (particularly when contrasted with the other forces of the Standard Model): background independence and diffeomorphism invariance. We remind the reader…
An effective mathematical framework based on Presymplectic Geometry for dealing with the "phase space picture" of timeless dynamics in General Relativity is presented. In General Relativity, the presence of the scalar Hamiltonian constraint…
We initiate an investigation how the fundamental concept of independence can be represented effectively in the presence of incomplete information in relational databases. The concepts of possible and certain independence are proposed, and…
This paper answers examines the relationship between Diffeomorphism Invariance and Background Independence. First, a review of the relationship between Background Independence, General Relativity (GR) and pre-GR theories are given. Then, a…
"It is utterly beyond our power to measure the changes of things by time. Quite the contrary, time is an abstraction at which we arrive through the changes of things." Ernst Mach [1]. What change? Three answers to this are `any change'…
A mathematical definition of classical causality over discrete spacetime dynamics is formulated. The approach is background free and permits a definition of causality in a precise way whenever the spacetime dynamics permits. It gives a…