Related papers: Time symmetry in wave function collapse models
Time-asymmetric spacetime structures, in particular those representing black holes and the expansion of the universe, are intimately related to other arrows of time, such as the second law and the retardation of radiation. The nature of the…
The notion of collapse is discussed and refined within the Two-State-Vector Formalism (TSVF). We show how a definite result of a measurement can be fully determined when considering specific forward and backward-evolving quantum states.…
The undoing of quantum measurements is discussed in the broader context of irreversibility in physics. We give explicit examples of how a wavefunction can be uncollapsed in two solid-state experimental set-ups. Wavefunction uncollapse shows…
Complex spatiotemporal patterns in nature significantly challenge reductionism-based modern science. The lack of a paradigm beyond reductionism hinders our understanding of the emergence of complexity. The diversity of countless patterns…
The paper addresses the quantization of minisuperspace cosmological models by studying a possible solution to the problem of time and time asymmetries in quantum cosmology. Since General Relativity does not have a privileged time variable…
Fundamental laws of physics are symmetric under time reversal ($T$) symmetry, but the $T$ symmetry is strongly broken in the macroscopic world. In this Perspective, I review $T$ symmetry breaking frameworks: \textit{second law of…
Almost a century after the development of quantum mechanics, we still do not have a consensus on the process of collapse of wavefunctions. Some theories require the intervention of a conscious observer while some see it as a stochastic…
Time-asymmetric behavior as embodied in the second law of thermodynamics is observed in {\it individual macroscopic} systems. It can be understood as arising naturally from time-symmetric microscopic laws when account is taken of a) the…
It is demonstrated how a convenient choice of the mathematical structure of the quantum cosmology superspace, precisely the definition of a convenient regular state superspace and the restriction of the dynamics to this space, yields…
It is demonstrated that the collapse of the wave function is equivalent to the continuity of measurement outcomes. The latter states that a second measurement has to result in the same outcome as the first measurement of the same observable…
We study the coupled small-amplitude motion of the mechanical system consisting of infinitely deep water and a structure immersed in it. The former is bounded above by a free surface, whereas the latter is formed by an arbitrary finite…
In three-dimensional turbulent flows, the flux of energy from large to small scales breaks time symmetry. We show here that this irreversibility can be quantified by following the relative motion of several Lagrangian tracers. We find by…
We construct a large class of spacetimes that are smoothly matched to homogeneous, spherically symmetric clouds of matter. The evolution of the clouds is left arbitrary to allow for the incorporation of modifications by quantum effects,…
We show that the Wheeler-DeWitt equation with a consistent boundary condition is only compatible with an arrow of time that formally reverses in a recollapsing universe. Consistency of these opposite arrows is facilitated by quantum effects…
We explain the collapse of the wavefunction with the notion that, in a measurement, the system observed nucleates a first order phase transition in the measuring device. The possible final states differ by the values of macroscopic…
Symmetry-breaking phase transitions are ubiquitous in condensed matter systems and in quantum field theories. There is also good reason to believe that they feature in the very early history of the Universe. At many such transitions…
The concordance model of cosmology predicts a universe which finishes in a finite amount of conformal time at a future conformal boundary. We show that for particular cases we study, the background variables and perturbations may be…
The basic strategy underlying models of spontaneous wave function collapse (collapse models) is to modify the Schroedinger equation by including nonlinear stochastic terms, which tend to localize wave functions in space in a dynamical…
Testable predictions of quantum mechanics are invariant under time reversal. But the change of the quantum state in time is not so, neither in the collapse nor in the no-collapse interpretations of the theory. This fact challenges the…
Rohrlich's recent claim that the equation of motion for a point charge be symmetric under time reversal is shown to be the result of an unusual definition. The equation of motion for a charged sphere of finite size, which in contrast is…