Related papers: On the interpretation of time-reparametrization-in…
We study classical Hamiltonian systems in which the intrinsic proper time evolution parameter is related through a probability distribution to the physical time, which is assumed to be discrete. In this way, a physical clock with discrete…
We study classical Hamiltonian systems in which the intrinsic proper time evolution parameter is related through a probability distribution to the physical time, which is assumed to be discrete. - This is motivated by the ``timeless''…
The appearance of Hamiltonian constraint in the canonical formalism for general relativity reflects the lack of a fixed external time. The dynamics of general relativistic systems can be expressed with respect to an arbitrarily chosen…
Quantum mechanics rests on the assumption that time is a classical variable. As such, classical time is assumed to be measurable with infinite accuracy. However, all real clocks are subject to quantum fluctuations, which leads to the…
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…
We analize the relational quantum evolution of generally covariant systems in terms of Rovelli's evolving constants of motion and the generalized Heisenberg picture. In order to have a well defined evolution, and a consistent quantum…
A commonly adopted relational account of time evolution in generally-covariant systems, and more specifically in quantum cosmology, is argued to be unsatisfactory, insofar as it describes evolution relative to observed readings of a clock…
Hamiltonian mechanics describes the evolution of a system through its Hamiltonian. The Hamiltonian typically also represents the energy observable, a Noether-conserved quantity associated with the time-invariance of the law of evolution. In…
We study the classical and quantum dynamics of generally covariant theories with vanishing a Hamiltonian and with a finite number of degrees of freedom. In particular, the geometric meaning of the full solution of the relational evolution…
The time-reparametrization-invariant dynamics of a relativistic string is studied in the Dirac generalized Hamiltonian theory by resolving the first class constraints. The reparametrization-invariant evolution parameter is identified with…
An exact invariant is derived for $n$-degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian systems with general time-dependent potentials. The invariant is worked out in two equivalent ways. In the first approach, we define a special {\it Ansatz\/} for the…
We introduce a new class of quantum models with time-dependent Hamiltonians of a special scaling form. By using a couple of time-dependent unitary transformations, the time evolution of these models is expressed in terms of related systems…
Identifying the real and imaginary parts of wave functions with coordinates and momenta, quantum evolution may be mapped onto a classical Hamiltonian system. In addition to the symplectic form, quantum mechanics also has a positive-definite…
Beginning with the principle that a closed mechanical composite system is timeless, time can be defined by the regular changes in a suitable position coordinate (clock) in the observing part, when one part of the closed composite observes…
We review two approaches to the definition of the Hilbert space and evolution in mechanical theories with local time-reparametrization invariance, which are often used as toy models of quantum gravity. The first approach is based on the…
A formalism for quantizing time reparametrization invariant dynamics is considered and applied to systems which contain an `almost ideal clock.' Previously, this formalism was successfully applied to the Bianchi models and, while it…
We consider the ambiguity associated with the choice of clock in time reparameterization invariant theories. This arbitrariness undermines the goal of prescribing a fixed set of physical laws, since a change of time variable can completely…
We study a classical reparametrization-invariant system, in which ``time'' is not a priori defined. It consists of a nonrelativistic particle moving in five dimensions, two of which are compactified to form a torus. There, assuming a…
The discussion is limited to first-class parametrized systems, where the definition of time evolution and observables is not trivial, and to finite dimensional systems in order that technicalities do not obscure the conceptual framework.…
The Hamiltonian constraint system is the canonical formulation of a physical system with a Hamiltonian constrained to vanish. In terms of the canonical variables, we define what we call reference observable, with respect to which other…