Related papers: Measuring time with stationary quantum clocks
The use of real clocks and measuring rods in quantum mechanics implies a natural loss of unitarity in the description of the theory. We briefly review this point and then discuss the implications it has for the measurement problem in…
In quantum mechanical experiments one distinguishes between the state of an experimental system and an observable measured in it. Heuristically, the distinction between states and observables is also suggested in scattering theory or when…
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.…
After stating the measurement problem, physicists usually assume the problem to be coming from the measurement part. Since classical probabilities also collapse when updating information, there is nothing special about quantum state…
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…
We survey the role of stable clocks in general relativity. Clock comparisons have provided important tests of the Einstein Equivalence Principle, which underlies metric gravity. These include tests of the isotropy of clock comparisons…
Symmetries have a crucial role in today's physics. In this thesis, we are mostly concerned with time reversal invariance (T-symmetry). A physical system is time reversal invariant if its underlying laws are not sensitive to the direction of…
Basic for the definition of 'time' are clocks operating under stationary conditions. The periods of two clocks can be compared with each other via two return experiments. The central clock mediates between the rotating and the inertial…
Entangled states of light exhibit measurable correlations between light detections at separated locations. These correlations are exploited in entangled-state quantum key distribution. To do so involves setting up and maintaining a rhythm…
Quantum measurement is a fundamental concept in the field of quantum mechanics. The action of quantum measurement, leading the superposition state of the measured quantum system into a definite output state, not only reconciles…
Measuring time means counting the occurrence of periodic phenomena. Over the past centuries a major effort was put to make stable and precise oscillators to be used as clock regulators. Here we consider a different class of clocks based on…
In this article we study the nature of time in Mechanics. The fundamental principle, according to which a mechanical system evolves governed by a second order differential equation, implies the existence of an absolute time-duration in the…
Quantum timeless approaches solve the problem of time by recovering the usual unitary evolution of quantum theory relative to a clock in a stationary quantum Universe. For some Hamiltonians of the Universe, such as those including an…
We show that if one or more of the `constants' of Nature can vary then their values, as measured in the laboratory, should oscillate over the year in a very particular way. These seasonal changes in the constants could well be detected, in…
The failure of conventional quantum theory to recognize time as an observable and to admit time operators is addressed. Instead of focusing on the existence of a time operator for a given Hamiltonian, we emphasize the role of the…
Proper time, ideal clocks, and boosts are well understood classically, but subtleties arise in quantum physics. We show that quantum clocks set in motion via momentum boosts do not witness classical time dilation. However, using velocity…
We discuss a systematic way in which a relational dynamics can be established relative to periodic clocks both in the classical and quantum theories, emphasising the parallels between them. We show that: (1) classical and quantum relational…
The claim that there is an inconsistency of quantum-classical dynamics [1] is investigated. We point out that a consistent formulation of quantum and classical dynamics which can be used to describe quantum measurement processes is already…
While adhering to the formalism of Special and General Relativity, this paper considers the interpretation of clock rates and the rating of clocks in detail. We also pay particular attention to the crucial requirement of reciprocity between…
Time is one of the undisputed foundations of our life in the real world. Here it is argued that inside small isolated quantum systems, time does not pass as we are used to, and it is primarily in this sense that quantum objects enjoy only…