Related papers: Quantum clock: A critical discussion on spacetime
We critically discuss the measure of very short time intervals. By means of a "gedankenexperiment", we describe an ideal clock based on the occurrence of completely random events. We show that the minimum time interval Delta t that this…
We discuss time measurement in quantum gravity. Using general relativity for large distances and the uncertainty principle we find a minimum time interval of the order of the Planck time, therefore the uncertainty in time measurment is…
Inspired by the work of Wheeler among others, we have studied the problem of quantum measurements of space-time distances by applying the general principles of quantum mechanics as well as those of general relativity. Contrary to the…
The starting point of this work is the axiomatic existence of a smallest measurable interval, viz. the Planck time $t_P$, set by quantum fluctuations in the vacuum metric tensor. By the Relativity Principle, the same limit must then apply…
Using a \emph{gedanken} experiment providing presumably a minimal inaccuracy the uncertainty contributions to the space-time measurement are precisely evaluated for clock and mirror respectively. The resulting expression of minimal…
We critically analyse and compare various recent thought experiments, performed by Amelino-Camelia, Ng et al., Baez et al., Adler et al., and ourselves, concerning the (thought)experimental accessibility of the Planck scale by space-time…
In Gedankenexperiment mentioned in the title, the imprecision in space-time measurement is related to the spreading of clock's wave-function with the passage of time required for the measurement. Special relativity puts a bound on the…
In Einstein's gedankenexperiment for measuring space and time, an ensemble of clocks moving through curved spacetime measures geometry by sending signals back and forth, as in the global positioning system (GPS). Combining well-known…
Quantum theory and relativity offer different conceptions of time. To explore the conflict between them, we study a quantum version of the light-clock commonly used to illustrate relativistic time dilation. This semiclassical model combines…
In general relativity, the picture of spacetime assigns an ideal clock to each worldline. Being ideal, gravitational effects due to these clocks are ignored and the flow of time according to one clock is not affected by the presence of…
This paper puts forward a broad critical analysis of the concept of physical time. Clock effect is conceived as a consequence of the variation of the gravitational or pseudo gravitational potential, and it is remarked that only some real…
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…
The recently introduced concept of an "ideal quantum clock" (IQC) is extended. Especially it is shown that the time operator of an IQC is canonically conjugated to the Hamiltonian of the IQC in a certain pre-Hilbert space. Further it is…
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.…
According to general relativity, clocks are the basic measuring devices needed to probe spacetime geometry. However, it is generally accepted that the mass of clocks capable of measuring small time intervals must be bounded from below. In…
Small violations of spacetime symmetries have recently been identified as promising Planck-scale signals. This talk reviews how such violations can arise in various approaches to quantum gravity, how the emergent low-energy effects can be…
A quantum clock must satisfy two basic constraints. The first is a bound on the time resolution of the clock given by the difference between its maximum and minimum energy eigenvalues. The second follows from Holevo's bound on how much…
The Stringy Uncertainty relations, and corrections thereof, were explicitly derived recently from the New Relativity Principle that treats all dimensions and signatures on the same footing and which is based on the postulate that the Planck…
In an apparently unexplored region of relativistic spacetime, a simple thought experiment demonstrates that conjoined Lorentz transformations predict a proper clock at rest will run backwards and that prediction violates the logical…
A formalism for quantizing time reparametrization invariant dynamics is considered and applied to systems which contain an `almost ideal clock.' Previously, this formalism was successfully applied to the Bianchi models and, while it…