Related papers: Arrow of Time in String Theory
In this letter we investigate whether the isotropy problem is naturally solved in inflationary cosmologies inspired by string theory, so called pre-big-bang cosmologies. We find that, in contrast to what happens in the more common…
I address the question whether the origin of the observed arrow of time can be derived from quantum cosmology. After a general discussion of entropy in cosmology and some numerical estimates, I give a brief introduction into quantum…
Recently, Carroll and Chen [hep-th/0410270] suggested a promising natural explanation of the thermodynamic arrow of time. However, we criticize their assertion that there exists a Cauchy hypersurface with a minimal entropy and argue that…
This is the written version of a lecture at the KITP workshop on Bits, Branes, and Black Holes. In it I describe work with D. Harlow, S. Shenker, D. Stanford which explains how the tree-like structure of eternal inflation, together with the…
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…
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…
This paper extends the work of a previous paper [arXiv:1208.2611] on the flow of time, to consider the origin of the arrow of time. It proposes that a `past condition' cascades down from cosmological to micro scales, being realized in many…
We propose a stringy version of the old inflation scenario which does not require any slow-roll inflaton potential and is based on a specific example of string compatification with warped metric. Our set-up admits the presence of…
In this paper, we investigate an important issue addressed by several approaches to quantum cosmology, like that based on loop quantum gravity and string theory: the existence of an arrow of time driving the cosmological evolution according…
We reconsider the old but yet unsolved problems, origin of the universe and the arrow of time. We show that only the closed universe is free from the singularity with the arrow of time symmetric with respect to the maximal size of the…
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…
Time-asymmetric spacetime structures, in particular those representing black holes and the expansion of the universe, are intimately related to other arrows of time, such as the second law and the retardation of radiation. The nature of the…
String theory abounds with light scalar fields (the dilaton and various moduli) which create a host of observational problems, and notably some serious cosmological difficulties similar to the ones associated with the Polonyi field in the…
Our universe seems to be radiation dominated at early times, and vacuum energy dominated at late times. When we consider the maximal analytic extension of this spacetime, its symmetries and complex analytic properties suggest a picture in…
Statistical physics cannot explain why a thermodynamic arrow of time exists, unless one postulates very special and unnatural initial conditions. Yet, we argue that statistical physics can explain why the thermodynamic arrow of time is…
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…
Although most fundamental laws are invariant under time reversal, experience exhibits the presence of irreversible phenomena -- the arrows of time. Their origin lies in cosmology, and I argue that only quantum cosmology can provide the…
Ooguri, Vafa, and Verlinde have outlined an approach to two-dimensional accelerating string cosmology which is based on topological string theory, the ultimate objective being to develop a string-theoretic understanding of "creating the…
We point out that time's arrow is naturally induced by quantum mechanical evolution, whenever the systems have a very large number ${\cal N}$ of non-degenerate states and a Hamiltonian bounded from below. When ${\cal N}$ is finite, the…
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…