Related papers: Boltzmann-Loschmidt dispute reloaded quantum 150 y…
A comparison is made of the traditional Loschmidt (reversibility) and Zermelo (recurrence) objections to Boltzmann's H-theorem, and its simplified variant in the Ehrenfests' 1912 wind-tree model. The little-cited 1896 (pre-recurrence)…
We critically revisit Einstein's 1905 heuristic argument for lightquanta, considering its internal coherence and the scope of its applicability. We argue that Einstein's reasoning, often celebrated for its originality, is ambiguous because…
The calculation of quantum dynamics is currently a central issue in theoretical physics, with diverse applications ranging from ultra-cold atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) to condensed matter, biology, and even astrophysics. Here we…
I compare the role of the information in the classical and quantum dynamics by examining the relation between information flows in measurements and the ability of observers to reverse evolutions. I show that in the Newtonian dynamics…
Most versions of classical physics imply that if the 4-volume of the entire space-time is infinite or at least extremely large, then random fluctuations in the matter will by coincidence create copies of us in remote places, so called…
We report an experimental and theoretical study of the dynamics of cold atoms subjected to closely-spaced pairs of pulses in an optical lattice. The experiments show the interplay between fully coherent quantum dynamics and a novel…
A widely accepted definition of ``quantum chaos'' is ``the behavior of a quantum system whose \emph{classical} \emph{limit is chaotic}''. The dynamics of quantum-chaotic systems is nevertheless very different from that of their classical…
A most simple theoretical argument is given in order to explain the quantitative estimate of the effect of collisional decoherence in matter-wave interferometry. The argument highlights the relevance of quantum and classical features in the…
Loschmidt's paradox asks why macroscopic irreversibility is universal despite the time-reversal symmetry of microscopic dynamics. We argue that irreversibility is not a property of the dynamics but of accessibility: chaotic evolution drives…
A heuristic generalization of the Boltzmann-Gibbs microcanonical entropy is proposed, able to describe meta-equilibrium features and evolution of macroscopic systems. Despite its simple-minded derivation, such a function of "collective…
The issue of how time reversible microscopic dynamics gives rise to macroscopic irreversible processes has been a recurrent issue in Physics since the time of Boltzmann whose ideas shaped, and essentially resolved, such an apparent…
One of the important questions in statistical mechanics is how irreversibility (time's arrow) occurs when Newton equations of motion are time reversal invariant. One objection to irreversibility is based on Poincar\'e's recursion theorem: a…
The Einstein equations allow solutions containing closed timelike curves. These have generated much puzzlement and suspicion that they could imply paradoxes. I show that puzzlement and paradoxes disappears if we discuss carefully the…
Uncovering the origin of the arrow of time remains a fundamental scientific challenge. Within the framework of statistical physics, this problem was inextricably associated with the second law of thermodynamics, which declares that entropy…
We have formulated a kinetic theory for a condensed atomic gas in a trap, i.e., a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation, as well as a quantum-Boltzmann equation for the normal and anomalous fluctuations [R. Walser et al., Phys. Rev. A, 59,…
Recently, the phenomenon of quantum-classical correspondence breakdown was uncovered in optomechanics, where in the classical regime the system exhibits chaos but in the corresponding quantum regime the motion is regular - there appears to…
Although the laws of classical physics are deterministic, thermodynamics gives rise to an arrow of time through irreversible processes. In quantum mechanics the unitary nature of the time evolution makes it intrinsically reversible, however…
Quantum retrodiction is a time-symmetric approach to quantum mechanics with applications in a number of important problems. One of the major challenges to its more widespread applicability is the restriction of its symmetric formalism to…
We discuss applications of the theory of Quantum Chaos to one of the paradigm models of many-body quantum physics -- the Bose-Hubbard model, which describes, in particular, interacting ultracold Bose atoms in an optical lattice. After…
We show that, in the parameter regime of state of the art experiments on Bose Einstein Condensates loaded into optical lattices, the energy spectrum of the 1D Bose-Hubbard model amended by a static field exhibits unambiguous signatures of…