Related papers: Pure shape dynamics, self-subsisting structures, a…
This paper investigates the mathematical representation of time in physics. In existing theories time is represented by the real numbers, hence their formal properties represent properties of time: these are surveyed. The central question…
We study the quantum dynamics of a time reparametrization invariant system with a vanishing Hamiltonian. The evolution of the physical degrees of freedom of the system is described, both at the classical and at the quantum level, in…
The Lagrangian relativistic direct interaction theory in the various forms of dynamics is formulated and its connections with the Fokker-type action theory and with the constrained Hamiltonian mechanics are established. The motion of…
Relational mechanics is a reformulation of mechanics (classical or quantum) for which space is relational. This means that the configuration of an $N$-particle system is a shape, which is what remains when the effects of rotations,…
My goal is to study the dynamics of the Universe from a relational perspective based on the happening of events in temporal relation to each other and their respective points of reference. Accordingly, the flow of time was modeled as the…
A reflexive relation on a set can be a starting point in defining the causal structure of a spacetime in General Relativity and other relativistic theories of gravity. If we identify this relation as the relation between lightlike separated…
Pure shape dynamics (PSD) is a novel implementation of the relational framework originally proposed by Julian Barbour and Bruno Bertotti. PSD represents a Leibnizian/Machian approach to physics in that it completely describes the dynamical…
We give a geometric account of the relative motion or the shape dynamics of $N$ point vortices on the sphere exploiting the $\mathsf{SO}(3)$-symmetry of the system. The main idea is to bypass the technical difficulty of the…
It is shown that the equations of relativistic Bohmian mechanics for multiple bosonic particles have a dual description in terms of a classical theory of conformally "curved" space-time. This shows that it is possible to formulate quantum…
The absence of unique time evolution in Einstein's spacetime description of gravity leads to the hitherto unresolved `problem of time' in quantum gravity. Shape Dynamics is an objectively equivalent representation of gravity that trades…
Time is, figuratively and literally, becoming the new dimension for crystalline matter. As such, rapid recent progress on time-varying media gave rise to the notion of temporal and spatiotemporal crystals. Fundamentally rethinking the role…
We present a deductive theory of space-time which is realistic, objective, and relational. It is realistic because it assumes the existence of physical things endowed with concrete properties. It is objective because it can be formulated…
Time crystals are quantum many-body systems which, due to interactions between particles, are able to spontaneously self-organize their motion in a periodic way in time by analogy with the formation of crystalline structures in space in…
Living systems exhibit a range of fundamental characteristics: they are active, self-referential, self-modifying systems. This paper explores how these characteristics create challenges for conventional scientific approaches and why they…
A new dynamical paradigm merging quantum dynamics with cosmology is discussed. Time evolution involves a genuine passage of time, which distinguishes the formalism from those where dynamics in space is equivalent to statics in space-time.…
Since physical theories employ mathematical models to describe and predict physical phenomena, our knowledge depends on the models available to that end. To increase their scope we present a particular type of simplified models, serial…
The natural topological, differentiable and geometrical structures on the space of light rays of a given spacetime are discussed. The relation between the causality properties of the original spacetime and the natural structures on the…
This study addresses the often underestimated importance of physical dimensions and units in the formal reconstruction of physical theories, focusing on structuralist approaches that use the concept of ``species of structure" as a…
I examine the debate between substantivalists and relationalists about the ontological character of spacetime and conclude it is not well posed. I argue that the so-called Hole Argument does not bear on the debate, because it provides no…
We analyze the points of total collision of the Newtonian gravitational system on shape space (the relational configuration space of the system). While the Newtonian equations of motion, formulated with respect to absolute space and time,…