Related papers: Skeptical Notes on a Physics of Passage
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…
The notion of time in cosmology is revealed through an examination of transition matrix elements of radiative processes occurring in the cosmos. To begin with, the very concept of time is delineated in classical physics in terms of…
It is often conjectured that a choice of time function merely sets up a frame for the quantum evolution of gravitational field, meaning that all choices should be in some sense compatible. In order to explore this conjecture (and the…
On one popular view, the general covariance of gravity implies that change is relational in a strong sense, such that all it is for a physical degree of freedom to change is for it to vary with regard to a second physical degree of freedom.…
We discuss how developments in physics often imply in the need that spacetime acquires an increasingly richer and complex structure. General Relativity was the first theory to show us the way to connect space and time with the physical…
A quantum mechanical theory with time asymmetry intrinsic to states (or observables) features the concept of an initial time of the state and thus a preparation time of the physical system represented by the state. This special time is…
This essay is based on a talk at Advances in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Sciences 2020 (AAMOS20) in a symposium honoring Prof. S. T. Manson's decades-long contribution to photoabsorption studies. Quantum physics introduced into physics…
Quantum cosmology offers a unique stage to address questions of time related to its underlying (and perhaps truly quantum dynamical) meaning as well as its origin. Some of these issues can be analyzed with a general scheme of quantum…
In this paper I argue for a reassessment of special relativity. The fundamental theory of relativity applicable in this Universe has to be consistent with the existence of the massive Universe, and with the effects of its gravitational…
Assorted questions: Time as a parameter in Quantum Mechanics. No-Go theorems for a time operator. Localization, time and causality. Causality violation. Localization again. Lesson 1: Evading the troubles: Im E finite. Lights and shadows of…
The purpose of the following paper is to demonstrate that the "limits of physics" are in a very important way determined by the conceptual framework and language of discourse that we use to describe physical reality. In this paper we…
A new approach in the Newtonian space and time, based upon the assumption that inertial mass is the quantitative measure of the matter. It has been shown that in case of a special physical system, a supposed matter transfer may reproduce…
This essay presents an accessible introduction to the basic motivations to seek a quantum theory of gravity. It focuses on one approach- loop quantum gravity - as an example of the rich philosophical issues that arise when we try to combine…
We present the arguments suggesting that time is emergent in quantum gravity and discuss extensively, but without any technical detail, the many aspects that can be involved in such emergence. We refer to both the physical issues that need…
In the paper, elements of the system theory of time are presented, mathematical models for time are constructed, and various properties are deduced from the main principles of the system theory of time. This theory is a far-reaching…
We give a consistent quantum description of time, based on Page and Wootters' conditional probabilities mechanism, that overcomes the criticisms that were raised against similar previous proposals. In particular we show how the model allows…
This paper provides an enjoyable example through which several concepts of classical mechanics can be understood. We introduce an equation that models the motion of a cat in the presence of a person. The cat is considered as a point…
The properties of the stable distance over stable spacetimes are used as a reference to propose a simplified, abstract notion of spacetime. The discussion shows that spacetime, with its topology, causal order and (upper semi-continuous)…
A general definition of a clock is proposed, and the role of clocks in establishing temporal pre-conditions in quantum mechanical questions is critically discussed. The different status of clocks as used by theorists external to a system…
An interpretation and re-formulation of modern physics which removes the presumption of the space-time continuum, and bases physical theory on a small number of rational and empirical principles. After briefly describing the philosophical…