Related papers: Spacetime as a Tightly Bound Quantum Crystal
The canonical answer to the question posed is "Yes." -- tacitly assuming that quantum theory and the concept of spacetime are to be unified by `quantizing' a theory of gravitation. Yet, instead, one may ponder: Could quantum mechanics arise…
We show how quantum mechanics can be understood as a space-time theory provided that its spatial continuum is modelled by a variable real number (qrumber) continuum. Such a continuum can be constructed using only standard Hilbert space…
We have previously presented a version of the Weak Equivalence Principle for a quantum particle as an exact analog of the classical case, based on the Heisenberg picture analysis of free particle motion. Here, we take that to a full…
In general relativity, the description of spacetime relies on idealised rods and clocks, which identify a reference frame. In any concrete scenario, reference frames are associated to physical systems, which are ultimately quantum in…
We study the limitations for defining spatial and temporal intervals when the only available reference frame is a single composite quantum system, whose internal degrees of freedom serve as a temporal reference, a clock, and whose center of…
A deformation of special relativistic kinematics (possible signal of a theory of quantum gravity at low energies) leads to a modification of the notion of spacetime. At the classical level, this modification is required when one considers a…
We treat space and time as bona fide quantum degrees of freedom on an equal footing in Hilbert space. Motivated by considerations in quantum gravity, we focus on a paradigm dealing with linear, first-order Hamiltonian and momentum…
We review two approaches to the definition of the Hilbert space and evolution in mechanical theories with local time-reparametrization invariance, which are often used as toy models of quantum gravity. The first approach is based on the…
Conventional approaches to quantum gravity regard quantum principles, such as nonlocality and superposition, as fundamental properties of nature and therefore argue that gravity must also be quantized. In contrast, this work introduces a…
We introduce observables associated with the space-time position of a quantum point defined by the intersection of two light pulses. The time observable is canonically conjugated to the energy. Conformal symmetry of massless quantum fields…
Classical mechanics, relativity, electrodynamics and quantum mechanics are often depicted as separate realms of physics, each with its own formalism and notion. This remains unsatisfactory with respect to the unity of nature and to the…
Time in relativity theory has a status different from that adopted by standard quantum mechanics, where time is considered as a parameter measured with reference to an external absolute Newtonian frame. This status strongly restricts its…
A cosmological model with two global internal times shows that time reparameterization invariance, and therefore covariance, is not guaranteed by deparameterization. In particular, it is impossible to derive proper-time effective equations…
We know that space and time are treated almost equally in classical physics, but we also know that this is not the case for quantum mechanics. A quantum description of both space and time is important to really understand the quantum nature…
A possible causal solution to the problem of providing a spacetime description of the transmission of signals in quantum entangled states is described using a `bimetric' spacetime structure, in which the quantum entanglement measurements…
It is well known that nonrelativistic quantum mechanics presents a clear asymmetry between space and time. Much of this asymmetry is attributed to the lack of Lorentz invariance of the theory. Nonetheless, a recent work [Phys. Rev. A…
The notion that the geometry of our space-time is not only a static background but can be physically dynamic is well established in general relativity. Geometry can be described as shaped by the presence of matter, where such shaping…
In ordinary, non-relativistic, quantum physics, time enters only as a parameter and not as an observable: a state of a physical system is specified at a given time and then evolved according to the prescribed dynamics. While the state can,…
Probabilistic Spacetime is a simple generalization of the classical model of spacetime in General Relativity, such that it allows to consider multiple metric field realizations endowed with probabilities. The motivation for such a…
A modification of the canonical quantization procedure for systems with time-dependent second-class constraints is discussed and applied to the quantization of the relativistic particle in a plane wave. The time dependence of constraints…