Related papers: Ideal clocks - a convenient fiction
The basic tenet of the present work is the assumption of the lack of external and fixed time in the Universe. This assumption is best embodied by general relativity, which replaces the fixed space-time structure with the gravitational…
The measurement of time durations or instants of ocurrence of events has been frequently modelled ``operationally'' by coupling the system of interest to a ``clock''. According to several of these models the operational approach is limited…
A quantum clock cannot be modeled as a point mass moving along a single geodesic if it is in a state with nonzero position fluctuations. Instead, it is an extended object subject to tidal forces and a superposition of time dilations at…
A novel quantum time dilation effect is shown to arise when a clock moves in a quantum superposition of two relativistic velocities. This effect is argued to be measurable using existing atomic interferometry techniques, potentially…
It is shown using both conventional and algebraic approach to quantum field theory that it is impossible to perform quantization on Unruh modes in Minkowski spacetime. Such quantization implies setting boundary condition for the quantum…
In a way similar to classical mechanics where we have the concept of inertial time as expressed in the motions of bodies, in the (special) theory of relativity we can regard the inertial time as the only notion of time at play. The inertial…
The operational approach to time is a cornerstone of relativistic theories, as evidenced by the notion of proper time. In standard quantum mechanics, however, time is an external parameter. Recently, many attempts have been made to extend…
The conflict between quantum theory and the theory of relativity is exemplified in their treatment of time. We examine the ways in which their conceptions differ, and describe a semiclassical clock model combining elements of both theories.…
A geometric illustration of the Lorentz transformations is given. According to similarity between space and time and correspondence between a ruler and a clock, like the division number in a moving ruler, the tick number of a moving clock…
It has recently been reported [\textit{PNAS} \textbf{114}, 2303 (2017)] that, under an operational definition of time, quantum clocks would get entangled through gravitational effects. Here we study an alternative scenario: the clocks have…
The special relativistic test theory of Mansouri and Sexl is sketched. Theories based on different clock synchronisations are found to be equivalent to special relativity, as regards experimental results. The conventionality of clock…
At the intersection of quantum theory and relativity lies the possibility of a clock experiencing a superposition of proper times. We consider quantum clocks constructed from the internal degrees of relativistic particles that move through…
In standard quantum theory, time is not an observable. It enters as a parameter in the Schr\"odinger equation, but there is no measurement operator associated to it. Nevertheless, one may take an operational viewpoint and regard time as the…
Measuring velocities requires the synchronization of spatially-separated clocks. Because this synchronization must precede the determination of velocities, no system of clock synchronization--such as that based on Einstein's presumption of…
The phase of matter waves depends on proper time and is therefore susceptible to special-relativistic (kinematic) and gravitational (redshift) time dilation. Hence, it is conceivable that atom interferometers measure general-relativistic…
In classical physics, clocks are open dissipative systems driven from thermal equilibrium and necessarily subject to thermal noise. We describe a quantum clock driven by entropy reduction through measurement. The mechanism consists of a…
An extension of standard quantum mechanics is proposed in which the Newtonian time appearing as a parameter in the unitary evolution operator is replaced with the time shown by a `quantum clock'. Such a clock is defined by the following…
Quantum mechanics and general relativity have been each successfully tested in numerous experiments. However, the regime where both theories are jointly required to explain physical phenomena remains untested by laboratory experiments, and…
We argue that (1) our perception of time through change and (2) the gap between reality and our observation of it are at the heart of both quantum mechanics and the dynamical mechanism of physical systems. We suggest that the origin of…
We show that motion and gravity affect the precision of quantum clocks. We consider a localised quantum field as a fundamental model of a quantum clock moving in spacetime and show that its state is modified due to changes in acceleration.…