Related papers: The Thermodynamic Arrow: Puzzles and Pseudo-puzzle…
We investigate the thermodynamic arrow of time in a time-symmetrically recollapsing universe by calculating quantum mechanically the entropy production of a massive scalar field. It is found that even though the Hamiltonian has a…
The reversibility and recurrence paradoxes are key issues that have been left unsolved in researches on the foundation of thermodynamics since the 19th century. This article shows that (1) the reversibility paradox can be overcome if we pay…
There is a widespread assumption that the universe in general, and the Earth's biosphere in particular, is becoming more complex over time. This paper formulates this assumption as a macroscopic law, the law of increasing complexity, for a…
In the history of cosmology physical paradoxes played important role for development of contemporary world models. Within the modern standard cosmological model there are both observational and conceptual cosmological paradoxes which…
I discuss some central issues in particle physics which are potentially relevant to cosmology. I first briefly review the present (glorious) experimental status of the Standard Model, emphasizing that it provides a firm foundation both for…
The paper consists of the two independent papers - the first one about Nonquantum Gravitation theory, the second one about Quantum Gravitation theory (Part III: Nonquantum Gravitation theory) The first paper is dealing with the analysis of…
Dynamical chaos is a term that encompasses a wide range of nonlinear phenomena such as turbulence, neuronal avalanches, weather patterns, and many others. However, despite much work in the field of chaos, its fundamental physical origin…
Recent discussions of the origins of the thermodynamical asymmetry ("the arrow of time") by Huw Price and others are critically assessed. This serves as a motivation for consideration of relationship between thermodynamical and cosmological…
The study of particle creation phenomena at the expense of the gravitational field is of great research interest. It might solve the cosmological puzzle single-handedly, without the need for either dark energy or the modified theory of…
Microphysical laws are time reversible, but macrophysics, chemistry and biology are not. This chapter explores how this asymmetry (a classic example of a broken symmetry) arises due to the cosmological context, where a non-local Direction…
Two statements by von Neumann and a thought-experiment by Peres prompts a discussion on the notions of one-shot distinguishability, orthogonality, semi-permeable diaphragm, and their thermodynamic implications. In the first part of the…
Although its practical efficiency is unquestionable, it is well known that thermodynamics presents conceptual difficulties from the theoretical point of view. It is shown that the problem comes from an imperfect compatibility between the…
The apparent dominance of matter over antimatter in our universe is an obvious and puzzling fact which cannot be adequately explained in present physical frameworks that assume matter-antimatter symmetry at the big bang. However, our…
What is the physical origin of the arrow of time? It is a commonly held belief in the physics community that it relates to the increase of entropy as it appears in the statistical interpretation of the second law of thermodynamics. At the…
Thermonuclear supernovae are valuable for cosmology but their physics is not yet fully understood. Modeling the development and propagation of nuclear flame is complicated by numerous instabilities. The predictions of supernova light curves…
Consider a Hamiltonian system that consists of a slow subsystem S and a fast subsystem F. The autonomous dynamics of S is driven by an effective Hamiltonian, but its thermodynamics is unexpected. We show that a well-defined thermodynamic…
The purpose of the paper is five-fold: (a) Argue that the question in the title can be presented in a meaningful manner and that it requires an answer. (b) Discuss the conventional answers and explain why they are unsatisfactory. (c)…
Although its practical efficiency is unquestionable, the thermodynamic tool presents a slight inconsistency from the theoretical point of view. After exposing arguments, which explain this opinion, a suggestion is put forward to solve the…
I discuss how five reasonably sounding assumptions lead to a dilemma -- the Page-time paradox -- , which appears to challenge a conventional statistical mechanical underpinning of black hole thermodynamics. By inspecting the conceptual…
Thermodynamics has a clear arrow of time, characterized by the irreversible approach to equilibrium. This stands in contrast to the laws of microscopic theories, which are invariant under time-reversal. Foundational discussions of this…