Related papers: Idealizations and analogies
In these lectures I discuss peculiarities of the critical behaviour of ``non-ideal'' systems as it is explained by the renormalization group approach. Examples considered here include account of the single-ion anisotropy, structural…
We explain the essence of perturbation problems. The key to understanding is the structure of chain homotopy equivalence -- the standard one must be replaced by a finer notion which we call a strong chain homotopy equivalence. We prove an…
The paper discusses the basic paradoxes of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. The approaches to solution of these paradoxes are suggested. The first one relies on the influence of the external observer (environment), which disrupts the…
What is physics? What are the limits of what physics can say about the world? In seeking ever-broader theoretical `umbrellas' for physical phenomena, we are seeking unifying principles. Emergent phenomena have turned out to be some of the…
The present paper presents a new general conception of interaction between physical systems, differing significantly from that of both classical physics and quantum physics as generally understood. We believe this conception could provide…
I discuss some central issues in particle physics which are potentially relevant to cosmology. I first briefly review the present (glorious) experimental status of the Standard Model, emphasizing that it provides a firm foundation both for…
Universality has been a key concept for the classification of equilibrium critical phenomena, allowing associations among different physical processes and models. When dealing with non-equilibrium problems, however, the distinction in…
It is demonstrated that the scaled order parameter for ferromagnetic Ising and three-state Potts chains with inverse-square interactions exhibits a universal critical jump, in analogy with the superfluid density in helium films.…
This paper argues that the traditional opposition between determinism and indeterminism in physics is representational rather than ontological. Deterministic-stochastic dualities are available in principle, and arise in a non-contrived way…
The aim of "A glance beyond the quantum model" [arXiv:0907.0372] to modernize the Correspondence Principle is compromised by an assumption that a classical model must start with the idea of particles, whereas in empirical terms particles…
Einstein's distinction between principle theories and constructive theories is methodological rather than metaphysical. Principle theories such as thermodynamics and relativity articulate empirically distilled constraints that delimit…
We will argue that a phenomenological analysis of consciousness, similar to that of Husserl, shows that the effects of phenomenal qualities shape our perception of the world. It also shows the way the physical and mathematical sciences…
We discuss two distinct analogies between turbulence and field theory. In one analogue, the field theory has an infrared attractive renormalization-group fixed point and corresponds to critical phenomena. In the other analogue, the field…
The current description of fundamental interactions is based on two theories with the status of standard models. The electromagnetic and nuclear interactions are described at a quantum level by the Standard Model of particle physics, using…
We study systems with a continuous phase transition that tune their parameters to maximize a quantity that diverges solely at a unique critical point. Varying the size of these systems with dynamically adjusting parameters, the same…
Finetuning and Naturalness are extra-empirical theory assessments that reflect our expectation how scientific theories should provide an intuitive understanding about the foundations underlying the observed phenomena. Recently, the absence…
While explainability is a desirable characteristic of increasingly complex black-box models, modern explanation methods have been shown to be inconsistent and contradictory. The semantics of explanations is not always fully understood - to…
The aim of this work is to show how Einstein's quantum hypothesis leads immediately and necessarily to a departure from classical mechanics. First we note that the classical description and predictions are in terms of idealized measurements…
Quantum-chaotic systems exhibit several universal properties, ranging from level repulsion in the energy spectrum to wavefunction delocalization. On the other hand, if wavefunctions are localized, the levels exhibit no level repulsion and…
This paper explores the intersection of identity, individuality, and reality through competing frameworks, including classical metaphysics, quantum mechanics, and computational theories. Traditional metaphysical notions of fixed identity…