Related papers: On the Persistence of Homogeneous Matter
A crucial step in the history of General Relativity was Einstein's adoption of the principle of general covariance which demands a coordinate independent formulation for our spacetime theories. General covariance helps us to disentangle a…
We consider a problem of the consistent deformation of physical system introducing a new features, but preserving its fundamental properties. In particular, we study how to implement the noncommutativity of space-time without violation of…
Eternalism is the view that the past, the present and the future exist simpliciter. A typical argument in favor of this view leans on the relativity of simultaneity. The 'equally real with' relation is assumed to be transitive between…
Reflective equilibrium between physics and philosophy, and between GR and particle physics, is fruitful and rational. I consider the virtues of simplicity, conservatism, and conceptual coherence, along with perturbative expansions. There…
We present a theory of discontinuous motion of particles in continuous space-time. We show that the simplest nonrelativistic evolution equation of such motion is just the Schroedinger equation in quantum mechanics. This strongly implies…
Robert Griffiths has recently addressed, within the framework of a 'consistent quantum theory' that he has developed, the issue of whether, as is often claimed, quantum mechanics entails a need for faster-than-light transfers of information…
The underlying philosophy and motivation for quantum hadrodynamics (QHD), namely, relativistic field theories of nuclear phenomena featuring manifest covariance, have evolved over the last quarter century in response to successes, failures,…
One signature of an expanding universe is the time-variation of the cosmological abundances of its different components. For example, a radiation-dominated universe inevitably gives way to a matter-dominated universe, and critical moments…
In spite of its long history and classical character which goes back even to d'Alembert and Lagrange, the problems of constraints in mechanics of continua is still mysterious and full of misunderstandings. Let us mention the problem of…
David Albert claims that classical electromagnetic theory is not time reversal invariant. He acknowledges that all physics books say that it is, but claims they are "simply wrong" because they rely on an incorrect account of how the time…
It is often said that in general relativity time does not exist. This is because the Einstein equations generate motion in time that is a symmetry of the theory, not true time evolution. In quantum gravity, the timelessness of general…
Is presentism compatible with relativity ? This question has been much debated since the argument first proposed by Rietdijk and Putnam. The goal of this text is to study the implications of relativity and quantum mechanics on presentism,…
We consider an inverse variational problem for the lines of constant curvature in (pseudo-)Euclidean two-, three-, and four-dimensional spaces. The accumulated results are physically meaningful in the case of relativistic mechanics of…
Mach argued for a relational rather than an absolute notion of space, insisting that centrifugal forces inside a rotating object such as a bucket can be reproduced by keeping the bucket fixed and rotating the universe. In response to a…
Classical and quantum mechanical descriptions of physical world are seamlessly abridged within the framework of Lagrangian formalism which, besides revealing the essence of nonlocally correlated dynamic evolution, helps understanding abrupt…
The self-force problem of classical electrodynamics has two closely linked facets: The ill defined dynamics of a point charge due to the divergent self field at the position of the charge, and the divergence of formally conserved…
It is believed that gravity will be explained in the framework of the existing quantum theory when one succeeds in eliminating divergencies at large momenta or small distances (although the phenomenon of gravity has been observed only at…
The aim of this paper is twofold: First, we give a formal introduction to the basics of the mathematical framework of classical mechanics. Along the way, we prove a Hamiltonian and a Lagrangian version of Noether's Theorem, an important…
A relativistic version of the (consistent or decoherent) histories approach to quantum theory is developed on the basis of earlier work by Hartle, and used to discuss relativistic forms of the paradoxes of spherical wave packet collapse,…
It is demonstrated that energy conservation allows for a straight derivation of Newtonian mechanics without an apriori definition of the concept of work. Furthermore it is shown that energy must be depicted as a function of position and…