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From antiquity the conceptual perception of space changed painfully and at a relatively slow pace. It went through mythological descriptions, religious beliefs, metaphysical worldviews and cosmological models with a mechanistic structure,…

History and Overview · Mathematics 2022-04-19 Ioannis Rizos

Theoretical physics is the search for simple and universal mathematical descriptions of the natural world. In contrast, much of modern biology is an exploration of the complexity and diversity of life. For many, this contrast is prima facie…

Biological Physics · Physics 2024-01-23 William Bialek

Feyerabend frequently discussed physics. He also referred to the history of the subject when motivating his philosophy of science. Alas, as some examples show, his understanding of physics remained superficial. In this respect, Feyerabend…

Physics and Society · Physics 2007-05-23 Karl Svozil

Cosmoparticle physics is the natural result of development of mutual relationship between cosmology and particle physics. Its prospects offer the way to study the theory of everything and the true history of the Universe, based on it, in…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Maxim Yu. Khlopov

This essay examines our fundamental conceptions of time, spacetime, the asymmetry of time, and the motion of a quantum mechanical particle. The concept of time has multiple meanings and these are often confused in the literature and must be…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2014-08-15 Gerald E. Marsh

We present a list of open questions in mathematical physics. After a historical introduction, a number of problems in a variety of different fields are discussed, with the intention of giving an overall impression of the current status of…

History and Overview · Mathematics 2017-10-11 Alan A. Coley

One of the great challenges for 21st century physics is to quantize gravity and generate a theory that will unify gravity with the other three fundamental forces of nature. This paper takes the (heretical) point of view that gravity may be…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2009-04-17 Stephen Boughn

For a century, quantum theorists have been reading the mathematical entrails of quantum mechanics (QM) to divine the nature of quantum reality. But to little avail. In this paper a different approach is taken, namely to identify and explain…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-11-11 David Ellerman

Our assumption that spacetime is a continuum leads to many challenges in mathematical physics. Singularities, divergent integrals and the like threaten many of our favorite theories, from Newtonian gravity to classical electrodynamics,…

Mathematical Physics · Physics 2020-02-04 John C. Baez

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…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2015-06-25 Orfeu Bertolami

This article presents a novel interpretation of quantum mechanics. It extends the meaning of ``measurement'' to include all property-indicating facts. Intrinsically space is undifferentiated: there are no points on which a world of locally…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2009-10-31 Ulrich Mohrhoff

The concept of torsion in geometry, although known for a long time, has not gained considerable attention by the physics community until relatively recently, due to its diverse and potentially important applications to a plethora of…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2024-01-02 Nick E. Mavromatos , Pablo Pais , Alfredo Iorio

An assessment of the present status of the theory, some immediate tasks which are suggested thereby and some questions whose answers may require a longer breath since they relate to significant changes in the conceptual and mathematical…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2007-05-23 Rudolf Haag

A specific theoretical framework is important for designing and conducting an experiment, and for interpretation of its results. The field of gravitational physics is expanding, and more clarity is needed. It appears that some popular…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2014-11-18 L P Grishchuk

This paper presents reflections on the validity of a series of mathematical methods and technical assumptions that are encrusted in macrophysics (related to gravitational interaction), that seem to have little or no physical significance.…

General Physics · Physics 2010-05-05 M. Iftime

General Relativity (GR) revolutionized the way we thought about gravity. After briefly describing the key successes of GR and its impact, I will discuss the major conceptual challenges it faces today. I conclude by outlining the prospective…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2015-12-22 T. Padmanabhan

Quantum Mechanics, the physical theory describing the microworld, represents one of science's greatest triumphs. It lies at the root of all modern digital technologies and offers unparalleled correspondence between prediction and…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2016-04-25 Adam Frank

Matter collapsing to a singularity in a gravitational field is still an intriguing question. Similar situation arises when discussing the very early universe or a universe recollapsing to a singularity. It is suggested that inclusion of…

Astrophysics · Physics 2011-07-04 C Sivaram , Kenath Arun , Venkata Manohara Reddy A

Most physics theories are deterministic, with the notable exception of quantum mechanics which, however, comes plagued by the so-called measurement problem. This state of affairs might well be due to the inability of standard mathematics to…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2021-11-04 Nicolas Gisin

More than a speculative technology, quantum computing seems to challenge our most basic intuitions about how the physical world should behave. In this thesis I show that, while some intuitions from classical computer science must be…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Scott Aaronson