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Related papers: Time and its arrow: an empiricist's perspective

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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

Contemporary research programs in fundamental physics appear to suggest that there could be two (physical) times---or none at all. This essay articulates these possibilities in the context of quantum gravity, and in particular of…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2020-09-14 Christian Wuthrich

The problem of time is a deep paradox in our physical description of the world. According to Aristotle's relational theory, time is a measure of change and does not exist on its own. In contrast, quantum mechanics, just like Newtonian…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-01-23 Dries Sels , Michiel Wouters

It is a remarkable fact that all processes occurring in the observable Universe are irreversible, whereas the equations in which the laws of physics are formulated are invariant under time reversal. The emergency of irreversibility from the…

Popular Physics · Physics 2009-12-10 Gustavo E. Romero

How special (or not) is the epoch we are living in? What is the appropriate reference class for embedding the observations made at the present time? How probable -- or else -- is anything we observe in the fulness of time? Contemporary…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2020-03-18 Milan M. Ćirković , Amedeo Balbi

A global definition of time-asymmetry is presented. Schulman's two arrows of time model is criticized.

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2007-05-23 Mario Castagnino , Luis Lara , Olimpia Lombardi

In this paper, we investigate an important issue addressed by several approaches to quantum cosmology, like that based on loop quantum gravity and string theory: the existence of an arrow of time driving the cosmological evolution according…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2026-03-25 Carlos Silva , Renan Aragão , Francisco A. Brito

Why time is a one-way corridor? What's the origin of the arrow of time? We attribute the thermodynamic arrow of time as the direction of increasing quantum state complexity. Inspired by the work of Nielsen, Susskind and Micadei, we checked…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2017-12-20 Xiao Dong , Ling Zhou

It is often claimed that the fundamental laws of physics are deterministic and time-symmetric and that therefore our experience of the passage of time is an illusion. This paper will critically discuss these claims and show that they are…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2023-04-20 Barbara Drossel

In the early 2000s, the study of time operators advanced as one of the methods to understand the problem of time as mathematical science. However, the starting point for the time operator is to understand time as a problem of observation…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-01-10 Tadashi Fujimoto

It is postulated there is not a precise static instant in time underlying a dynamical physical process at which the relative position of a body in relative motion or a specific physical magnitude would theoretically be precisely determined.…

General Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Peter Lynds

I dissent from the standard assertion of a "Two Times Problem," in which physical time is taken as being at odds with the human sense of a "flow of time." I provide a brief overview of the case to be made for the contrary view: namely, that…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2023-07-18 Ruth E. Kastner

We find ourselves in an extended era of entropy production. Unlike most other observations, the arrow of time is usually regarded as a constraint on initial conditions. I argue, however, that it primarily constrains the vacuum structure of…

High Energy Physics - Theory · Physics 2013-05-30 Raphael Bousso

We reconsider the old but yet unsolved problems, origin of the universe and the arrow of time. We show that only the closed universe is free from the singularity with the arrow of time symmetric with respect to the maximal size of the…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2025-10-13 Takeshi Fukuyama

For decades, researchers have sought to understand how the irreversibility of the surrounding world emerges from the seemingly time symmetric, fundamental laws of physics. Quantum mechanics conjectured a clue that final irreversibility is…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-07-22 A. V. Lebedev , V. M. Vinokur

Quantum walks are powerful tools not only to construct the quantum speedup algorithms but also to describe specific models in physical processes. Furthermore, the discrete time quantum walk has been experimentally realized in various…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2010-06-29 Yutaka Shikano , Kota Chisaki , Etsuo Segawa , Norio Konno

In this work we present an epistemic analysis of time phenomenon using the mathematical machinery of information theory and modular theory. By adopting limited commitment to the ontology of time evolution, and instead by mainly relying on…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2022-06-09 Farhang Hadad Farshi , Silvia DeBianchi

In this review we present the problem of time in quantum physics, including a short history of the problem and the known objections about considering time a quantum observable. The need to deal with time as an observable is elaborated…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-06-13 M. Basil Altaie , Daniel Hodgson , Almut Beige

Time plays a fundamental role in our ability to make sense of the physical laws in the world around us. The nature of time has puzzled people -- from the ancient Greeks to the present day -- resulting in a long running debate between…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-09-23 Sergii Strelchuk , Mischa P. Woods

What is time? Why does it "flow" and why are we sure that it flows from past towards future? Why is there such a gigantic distinction between the Past of our world, which we believe to be fixed, and the Future, which we consider…

General Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 A. Mazur