Related papers: Is time continuous?
Classical, Quantum and Relativistic mechanics elect time and space as fundamentals, extracting the measure of motion -velocity- from this static space-time platform. Conversely, the timelessness of Statistical mechanics computes the…
A mathematical definition of classical causality over discrete spacetime dynamics is formulated. The approach is background free and permits a definition of causality in a precise way whenever the spacetime dynamics permits. It gives a…
We consider a very general class of theories, process theories, which capture the underlying structure common to most theories of physics as we understand them today (be they established, toy or speculative theories). Amongst these…
A model of discrete space-time is presented which is, in a sense, both Lorentz invariant and has no restriction on the relative velocity between particles (except v < c). The space-time has an inbuilt indeterminacy. Published originally as…
Contemporary research programs in fundamental physics appear to suggest that there could be two (physical) times---or none at all. This essay articulates these possibilities in the context of quantum gravity, and in particular of…
Time crystals are classified as discrete or continuous depending on whether they spontaneously break discrete or continuous time translation symmetry. While discrete time crystals have been extensively studied in periodically driven systems…
In this paper we address the problem of the arrow of time from a cosmological point of view, rejecting the traditional entropic approach that defines the future direction of time as the direction of the entropy increase: from our…
A simple quantum model describing the onset of time is presented. This is combined with a simple quantum model of the onset of space. A major purpose is to explore the interpretational issues which arise. The state vector is a superposition…
It is usually assumed that the "$t$" parameter in the equations of dynamics can be identified with the indication of the pointer of a clock. Things are not so easy, however. In fact, since the equations of motion can be written in terms of…
Through the analysis of the definition of the duration of proper time of a particle given by the length of its world line, we show that there is no transitivity of the coordinate time function derived from the definition, so there exists an…
Traditional clock synchronisation on a rotating platform is shown to be incompatible with the experimentally established transformation of time. The latter transformation leads directly to solve this problem through noninvariant one-way…
The natural unit system, in which the value of fundamental constants such as c and h are set equal to one and all quantities are expressed in terms of a single unit, is usually introduced as a calculational convenience. However, we…
Time plays a crucial role in the intuitive understanding of the world around us. Within quantum mechanics, however, time is not usually treated as an observable quantity; it enters merely as a parameter in the laws of motion of physical…
We present an explicit bijection between finite-decimal real numbers and natural numbers ($\mathbb{N} = \{1, 2, 3, ...\}$) using a systematic 4-tuple parametrization with closed-form mathematical formulas for enumeration. Our enumeration…
Ideal rods and clocks are defined as an infinitesimal symmetry of the spacetime. Since no a priori geometric structure is considered, all the possible models of spacetime are obtained.
The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics assumes the existence of the classical deterministic Newtonian world. We argue that in fact the Newton determinism in classical world does not hold and in classical mechanics there is…
This paper examines the various arguments that have been put forward suggesting either that time does not exist, or that it exists but its flow is not real. I argue that (i) time both exists and flows; (ii) an Evolving Block Universe…
This paper presents yet another personal reflection on one the most important concepts in both science and the humanities: time. This elusive notion has been not only bothering philosophers since Plato and Aristotle. It goes throughout…
Thermodynamics and its quantum counterpart are traditionally described with statistical ensembles. Canonical typicality has related statistical mechanics for a system to ensembles of global energy eigen- states of system and its environment…
In the usual formulation of quantum theory, time is a global classical evolution parameter, not a local quantum observable. On the other hand, both canonical quantum gravity (which lacks fundamental time-evolution parameter) and the…