Related papers: Idealizations and analogies
We establish purely geometric or metric-based criteria for the validity of the separate universe ansatz, under which the evolution of small-scale observables in a long-wavelength perturbation is indistinguishable from a separate…
This research investigates a novel class of one-dimensional theories characterised by a distinctly defined infinite interaction range. We propose that such theories emerge naturally through a mesoscopic feedback mechanism. In this…
The collapse of man-made and natural structures is a complex phenomenon that has been studied for centuries. We propose a new approach to understanding catastrophic instabilities, based on the idea that they do not occur at the critical…
One of the key clues to consider rainfall as a self-organized critical phenomenon is the existence of power-law distributions for rain-event sizes. We have studied the problem of universality in the exponents of these distributions by means…
A general organizing principle is proposed that can be used to derive the equations of motion describing the near-equilibrium dynamics of causal and thermodynamically stable relativistic systems. The latter are found to display some new…
Gravity stands out among the fundamental interactions because of its apparent incompatibility with having a quantum description. Moreover, thermodynamic aspects of gravitation theory appears as puzzling features of some classical solutions…
This work continues the one commenced in a previous one, where the key idea is that individual stances on a social matter can be modeled as positions of particles in physics. Here, we explore the aggregation of individual behavior as a…
The gap between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics has an important interpretive implication: the Universe must have an irreducible fundamental level, which determines the properties of matter at higher levels of organization. We…
We propose a generalized Dicke model which supports a quantum tricritical point. We map out the phase diagram and investigate the critical behaviors of the model through exact low-energy effective Hamiltonian in the thermodynamic limit. As…
Scientists often think of the world (or some part of it) as a dynamical system, a stochastic process, or a generalization of such a system. Prominent examples of systems are (i) the system of planets orbiting the sun or any other classical…
To determine the universality class of critical phenomena, we propose a method of statistical inference in the scaling analysis of critical phenomena. The method is based on Bayesian statistics, most specifically, the Gaussian process…
A knowledge system S describing a part of real world does in general not contain complete information. Reasoning with incomplete information is prone to errors since any belief derived from S may be false in the present state of the world.…
On the phase diagram of a system undergoing a continuous phase transition of the second order, three lines, hyper-surfaces, convergent into the critical point feature prominently: the ordered and disordered phases in the thermodynamic…
In a universe where, according to the standard cosmological models, some 97% of the total mass-energy is still "missing in action" it behooves us to spend at least a little effort critically assessing and exploring radical alternatives.…
Explaining autonomous and intelligent systems is critical in order to improve trust in their decisions. Counterfactuals have emerged as one of the most compelling forms of explanation. They address ``why not'' questions by revealing how…
To make precise the sense in which nature fails to respect classical physics, one requires a formal notion of classicality. Ideally, such a notion should be defined operationally, so that it can be subjected to a direct experimental test,…
Topological phase transitions track changes in topological properties of a system and occur in real materials as well as quantum engineered systems, all of which differ greatly in terms of dimensionality, symmetries, interactions, and…
Quantum mechanics marks a radical departure from the classical understanding of Nature, fostering an inherent randomness which forbids a deterministic description; yet the most fundamental departure arises from something different. As shown…
It is a widespread belief that results like G\"odel's incompleteness theorems or the intrinsic randomness of quantum mechanics represent fundamental limitations to humanity's strive for scientific knowledge. As the argument goes, there are…
We propose an interpretation of physics named potentiality realism. This view, which can be applied to classical as well as to quantum physics, regards potentialities (i.e. intrinsic, objective propensities for individual events to obtain)…