Related papers: Laws beyond spacetime
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…
The nature of time in quantum mechanics is closely related to the use of a complex, rather than say real, Hilbert space. This becomes particularly clear when considering quantum field theory in time dependent backgrounds, such as in…
There must exist a reformulation of quantum field theory, even at low energies, which does not depend on classical time. The octonionic theory proposes such a reformulation, leading to a pre-quantum pre-spacetime theory. The ingredients for…
Quantum cognition often explains order effects, contextuality, and violations of the law of total probability by replacing classical probability with quantum probability on a fixed event structure. This paper proposes a different…
In order to construct a quantum theory of gravity, we may have to abandon certain assumptions we were making. In particular, the concept of spacetime as a continuum substratum is questioned. Causal Sets is an attempt to construct a quantum…
In this paper we consider generalization of classical and quantum mechanics that directly follows from the causality principle and topology of a system state space. In generalized mechanics, the Hamiltonian/Schrodinger equations remain the…
A satisfactory theory of quantum gravity will very likely require modification of our classical perception of space-time, perhaps by giving it a 'foamy' structure at scales of order the Planck length. This is expected to modify the…
This paper is a continuation of the paper [V.S.Mashkevich, gr-qc/9409010]. Indeterministic quantum gravity is a theory that unifies general relativity and quantum theory involving indeterministic conception, i.e., quantum jumps. By the same…
The hilbert-space structure of quantum mechanics is related to the causal structure of space-time. The usual measurement hypotheses apparently preclude nonlinear or stochastic quantum evolution. By admitting a difference in the calculus of…
Familiar textbook quantum mechanics assumes a fixed background spacetime to define states on spacelike surfaces and their unitary evolution between them. Quantum theory has changed as our conceptions of space and time have evolved. But…
Gaussian quantum systems exhibit many explicitly quantum effects but can be simulated classically. Using both the Hilbert space (Koopman) and the phase-space (Moyal) formalisms we investigate how robust this classicality is. We find…
Two people may claim both to be naturalists, but have divergent conceptions of basic elements of the natural world which lead them to mean different things when they talk about laws of nature, or states, or the role of mathematics in…
We discuss from a philosophical perspective the way in which the normal concept of time might be said to `emerge' in a quantum theory of gravity. After an introduction, we briefly discuss the notion of emergence, without regard to time…
We emphasize that noncommutative (NC) spacetime necessarily implies emergent spacetime if spacetime at microscopic scales should be viewed as NC. In order to understand NC spacetime correctly, we need to deactivate the thought patterns that…
The rules of quantum mechanics require a time coordinate for their formulation. However, a notion of time is in general possible only when a classical spacetime geometry exists. Such a geometry is itself produced by classical matter…
To admit a canonically conjugate time operator, the Hamiltonian has to be a generator of translations (like the momentum operator generates translations in space), so its spectrum must be unbounded. But the Hamiltonian governing our world…
Emergent gravity views spacetime as an entity emergent from a more complete theory of interacting fundamental constituents valid at much finer resolution or higher energies, usually assumed to be above the Planck energy. In this view…
I present a discussion of some open issues in the philosophy of space-time theories. Emphasis is put on the ontological nature of space and time, the relation between determinism and predictability, the origin of irreversible processes in…
Among the (in)famous differences between classical and quantum mechanics, quantum counterfactuals seem to be the most intriguing. At the same time, they seem to underlie many quantum oddities. In this article, we propose a simple…
Recent progress in table-top experiments offers the opportunity to show for the first time that gravity is not compatible with a classical description. In all current experimental proposals, such as the generation of gravitationally induced…