Related papers: Zeno meets modern science
In contemporary physics space and time are intertwined entities so that kinematical and dynamical quantities are expressed in the four-dimensional space-time. This formulation seems to contradict our every-day experience and perception…
The problems connected with a causality of space-time universe and with the paradox of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen are considered. A main philosophical problem and its possible solutions are briefly discussed. A concept of unified local…
Measurement quantum mechanics, the theory of a quantum system which undergoes a measurement process, is introduced by a loop of mathematical equivalencies connecting previously proposed approaches. The unique phenomenological parameter of…
Causality is one of the most fundamental -- and yet elusive -- concepts in physics. From its intuitive role in everyday experience to its formal and often implicit role in scientific theories, causality has challenged philosophers and…
Frauchiger and Renner recently cast doubt on the universal applicability of Quantum Mechanics [1]. In the following, it is pointed out that their conclusion of one of three common-sense conditions, demanded for Quantum Mechanics, being…
It is a remarkable fact that all processes occurring in the observable Universe are irreversible, whereas the equations through which the fundamental laws of physics are formulated are invariant under time reversal. The emergence of…
The time evolution of an unstable quantum mechanical system coupled with an external measuring agent is investigated. According to the features of the interaction Hamiltonian, a quantum Zeno effect (hindered decay) or an inverse quantum…
Consequences of the deviation from the linear on time quantum transition probabilities leading to the nonexponential decay law and to the so-called Zeno effect are analysed. Main features of the quantum Zeno and quantum anti-Zeno effects…
There are countless examples in the history of science that not only were the laws of physics often incomplete and more limited in their domain of validity than was realized, but at times they missed the mark completely. Despite this, our…
We introduce some early considerations of physical and mathematical impossibility as preludes to the Goedel incompleteness theorems. We consider some informal aspects of these theorems and their underlying assumptions and discuss some the…
We give a pedagogical introduction to the process of decoherence - the irreversible emergence of classical properties through interaction with the environment. After discussing the general concepts, we present the following examples:…
The extravagances of quantum mechanics never fail to enrich daily the debate around natural philosophy. Entanglement, non-locality, collapse, many worlds, many minds, and subjectivism have challenged generations of thinkers. Its approach…
A quantum mechanical version of a classical inverted pendulum is analyzed. The stabilization of the classical motion is reflected in the bounded evolution of the quantum mechanical operators in the Heisenberg picture. Interesting links with…
The Einstein-Podolski-Rosen paradox highlights several strange properties of quantum mechanics including the super position of states, the non locality and its limitation to determine an experiment only statistically. Here, this well known…
The evolution of a quantum system subjected to infinitely many measurements in a finite time interval is confined in a proper subspace of the Hilbert space. This phenomenon is called "quantum Zeno effect": a particle under intensive…
The twin paradox is the best known thought experiment associated with Einstein's theory of relativity. An astronaut who makes a journey into space in a high-speed rocket will return home to find he has aged less than a twin who stayed on…
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,…
Quantum mechanics is very odd. It presents both an immensely practical and a deeply troubling conception of the physical world. As such, its uses stretch from optimizing nanoelectronics to examining the very nature of reality. In this…
The possibility to observe quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno scenarios for atom-diatom reactive collisions is investigated for two diferent processes (F+HD and H+O_2) by means of time-dependent wave packet propagations. A novel approach is…
The dynamics of a quantum system undergoing frequent "measurements", leading to the so-called quantum Zeno effect, is examined on the basis of a neutron-spin experiment recently proposed for its demonstration. When the spatial degrees of…