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Related papers: A compromised arrow of time

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It was recently shown \cite{opposite} that systems with opposite thermodynamic arrows of time could have moderate mutual interaction with neither destroying the order of the other. Such interaction includes signaling. Signals, however, may…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2009-11-07 L. S. Schulman

The relation between the thermodynamical and cosmological arrows of time is usually viewed in the context of the initial conditions of the Universe. It is a necessary but not sufficient condition for ensuring the thermodynamical arrow. We…

Astrophysics · Physics 2018-03-28 A. E. Allahverdyan , V. G. Gurzadyan

This paper is a natural continuation of our previous paper arXiv:1011.4173 . We illustrated earlier that in classical Hamilton mechanics, for overwhelming majority of real chaotic macroscopic systems, alignment of their thermodynamic time…

General Physics · Physics 2013-07-15 Oleg Kupervasser

The existence of a thermodynamic arrow of time in the present universe implies that the initial state of the observable portion of our universe at (or near) the ``big bang'' must have been very ``special''. We argue that it is not plausible…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2007-05-23 Robert M. Wald

The nature of time has beguiled philosophers for nearly three millennia. There are myriad types of time including cosmological time, biological time, psychological time, physical time, historical time, and even theological time. My brief…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2021-07-20 Stephen Boughn

Based on the hypothesis that the (non-reversible) arrow of time is intrinsic in any system, no matter how small, the consequences are discussed. Within the framework of local quantum physics it is shown how such a semi-group action of time…

Mathematical Physics · Physics 2023-05-22 Detlev Buchholz , Klaus Fredenhagen

This thesis addresses two major problems in the philosophy of physics. The first is how to identify the minimal physical content of a theory; that is, what features of a theory are truly needed to make predictions, and what can be removed…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2025-09-19 Sean Gryb

A model in which two weakly coupled systems maintain opposite running thermodynamic arrows of time is exhibited. Each experiences its own retarded electromagnetic interaction and can be seen by the other. The possibility of opposite-arrow…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2009-10-31 L. S. Schulman

The laws of Physics are time-reversible, making no qualitative distinction between the past and the future -- yet we can only go towards the future. This apparent contradiction is known as the "arrow of time problem". Its current resolution…

Discrete Mathematics · Computer Science 2024-08-23 Pablo Arrighi , Gilles Dowek , Amélia Durbec

One of the most difficult problems in the foundations of physics is what gives rise to the arrow of time. Since the fundamental dynamical laws of physics are (essentially) symmetric in time, the explanation for time's arrow must come from…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2021-10-26 Eddy Keming Chen

The familiar textbook quantum mechanics of laboratory measurements incorporates a quantum mechanical arrow of time --- the direction in time in which state vector reduction operates. This arrow is usually assumed to coincide with the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-06-12 James B. Hartle

It is a truth universally acknowledged that all isolated macroscopic systems must be in want of ever greater disorder, with due apologies to Jane Austen for plagiarizing the opening line in her novel {\it Pride and Prejudice}. This common,…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2024-10-01 James P. Hurley

Deriving an arrow of time from time-reversal symmetric microscopic dynamics is a fundamental open problem in many areas of physics, ranging from cosmology, to particle physics, to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Here we focus on…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-01-31 Thomas Guff , Chintalpati Umashankar Shastry , Andrea Rocco

For more than a century, physics has known of a puzzling conflict between the T-asymmetry of thermodynamic phenomena and the T-symmetry of the underlying microphysics on which these phenomena depend. This paper provides a guide to the…

Classical Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Huw Price

The outcome of a single quantum experiment is unpredictable, except in a pure-state limit. The definite process that takes place in the apparatus may either be intrinsically random or be explainable from a deeper theory. While the first…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-06-22 Theo M. Nieuwenhuizen

The second law of thermodynamics imposes a fundamental asymmetry in the flow of events. The so-called thermodynamic arrow of time introduces an ordering that divides the system's state space into past, future and incomparable regions. In…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-12-14 A. de Oliveira Junior , Jakub Czartowski , Karol Życzkowski , Kamil Korzekwa

The arrow of time is an irreversible phenomenon for a system of particles undergoing reversible dynamics. Since the time of Boltzmann to this day, the arrow of time has led to debate and research. However, the enormous growth of…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2020-07-22 Derek Wright , Roshan Klein-Seetharaman , Susanta K. Sarkar

The second law of thermodynamics points to the existence of an `arrow of time', along which entropy only increases. This arises despite the time-reversal symmetry (TRS) of the microscopic laws of nature. Within quantum theory, TRS underpins…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2021-04-13 Max McGinley , Nigel R. Cooper

Emergence of one-time-direction macroscopic evolution of a classical system of two mixed gases having different temperatures is derived and explained. The analysis performed at the microscopic level, where the time-symmetric laws of…

Classical Physics · Physics 2016-08-11 Krzysztof Rębilas

Scientists continue to wrestle with the enigma of time. Is time a dynamic or a fundamental property of spacetime? Why does it have an arrow pointing from past to future? Why are physical laws time-symmetric in a universe with broken…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2009-09-15 L. Mersini-Houghton