Related papers: Relativity theory does not imply that the future a…
Starting from Bunge's (1977) scientific ontology, we expose a materialistic relational theory of space-time, that carries out the program initiated by Leibniz, and provides a protophysical basis consistent with any rigorous formulation of…
It will be shown that, in comparison with the pre-relativistic Galileo-invariant conceptions, special relativity tells us nothing new about the geometry of spacetime. It simply calls something else "spacetime", and this something else has…
In a way similar to classical mechanics where we have the concept of inertial time as expressed in the motions of bodies, in the (special) theory of relativity we can regard the inertial time as the only notion of time at play. The inertial…
Causal set theory offers a simple and elegant picture of discrete physics. But the vast majority of causal sets look nothing at all like continuum spacetimes, and must be excluded in some way to obtain a realistic theory. I describe recent…
The tremendous popular success of Chaos Theory shares some common points with the not less fortunate Relativity: they both rely on a misunderstanding. Indeed, ironically , the scientific meaning of these terms for mathematicians and…
In a purely relational theory there exists a tension between the relational character of the theory and the existence of quantities like distance and duration. We review this issue in the context of the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence. We…
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…
The theory of regularity is a philosophical perspective in which laws of nature are just descriptions, that is to say, laws of nature do not govern the world. Moreover, according to the theory of regularity, the number of laws of nature…
Our assumption that spacetime is a continuum leads to many challenges in mathematical physics. Singularities, divergent integrals and the like threaten many of our favorite theories, from Newtonian gravity to classical electrodynamics,…
Descriptions of relativistic quantum physics that derive from quantizations of classical physics require additional technical properties and these technical conjectures exclude interaction in example realizations. In this essay, uniquely…
A model of a stationary universe is proposed. In this framework, time is defined as a local and quantum-mechanical notion in the sense that it is defined for each local and quantum-mechanical system consisting of finite number of particles.…
A local conception is proposed to reconcile quantum theory with general relativity, which allows one to avoid some difficulties --- as e.g. vacuum catastrophe --- of the global approach.
The conflict between quantum theory and the theory of relativity is exemplified in their treatment of time. We examine the ways in which their conceptions differ, and describe a semiclassical clock model combining elements of both theories.…
Time-symmetric interpretations of quantum theory are often presented as featuring "retrocausal" effects in addition to the usual forward notion of causation. This paper examines the ontological implications of certain timesymmetric…
While General Relativity ranks undoubtedly among the best physics theories ever developed, it is also among those with the most striking implications. In particular, General Relativity admits solutions which allow faster than light motion…
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…
Quantum non-local correlations and the acausal, spooky action at a distance suggest a discord between quantum theory and special relativity. We propose a resolution for this discord by first observing that there is a problem of time in…
Traditional interpretations of quantum theory in terms of wave function collapse are particularly unappealing when considering the universe as a whole, where there is no clean separation between classical observer and quantum system and…
In the present paper we give conclusive arguments pointing at physical equivalence among conformally related metrics. Based on the argument that any consistent effective theory of spacetime must be invariant under the one-parameter group of…
The most general form of transformations of spacetime coordinates in Special Theory of Relativity based solely on physical assumptions are described. Only the linearity of spacetime transformations and the constancy of the speed of light…