Related papers: On the Reality of Minkowski Space
This is a philosophical paper. It claims that there is a gap to be filled in the relationship between complexity theory (CT) and quantum theory (QT). This gap concerns two very distinct understandings of time. The paper provides the ground…
This article deals with empty spacetime and the question of its physical reality. By "empty spacetime" we mean a collection of bare spacetime points, the remains of ridding spacetime of all matter and fields. We ask whether these geometric…
In this paper, we establish a necessary condition for the logarithmic Minkowski problem in higher dimensions. This result generalizes a necessary condition proposed by Liu, Lu, Sun, and Xiong in their investigation of the two-dimensional…
The physical world is quantum. However, our description of the quantum physics still relies much on concepts in classical physics and in some cases with `quantized' interpretations. The most important case example is that of spacetime. We…
The implications of the physical theory of quantum mechanics on the question of realism is much a subject of sustaining interest, while the background questions among physicists on how to think about all the theoretical notion and…
A definition is proposed to give precise meaning to the counterfactual statements that often appear in discussions of the implications of quantum mechanics. Of particular interest are counterfactual statements which involve events occurring…
It goes without saying that we are stuck with the universe we have. Nevertheless, we would like to go beyond simply describing our observed universe, and try to understand why it is that way rather than some other way. Physicists and…
In physics, there is the prevailing intuition that we are part of a unique external world, and that the goal of physics is to understand and describe this world. This assumption of the fundamentality of objective reality is often seen as a…
The recent suggestion that late time quantum dynamics may be important for resolving cosmological issues associated with our observed universe requires a consideration of several subtle issues associated with quantum cosmology, as we…
A critical discussion of our knowledge about extragalactic cosmic rays and magnetic fields is attempted. What do we know for sure? What are our prejudices? How do we confront our models with the observations? How can we assess the…
Planck scale physics represents a future challenge, located between particle physics and general relativity. The Planck scale marks a threshold beyond which the old description of spacetime breaks down and conceptually new phenomena must…
We outline two subjects of relativistic mechanics: (i) the set of allowable world lines, and (ii) the origin of the relativistic law of dynamics governing point particles. We show that: (i) allowable world lines in the classical theory of…
A number of very different approaches to quantum gravity contain a common thread, a hint that spacetime at very short distances becomes effectively two dimensional. I review this evidence, starting with a discussion of the physical meaning…
General relativity is applied to the strong interaction; the nexus between the two being arrived at by constructing a line element having the Yukawa form, which is used to describe geometrically the classical dynamics of a particle moving…
Discussion of some aspects of the concept of time for a general audience: nature of time, A- and B-series, time in physics, the "now", measurement of time, definition of time units, time's arrow, relativity of time, relativity of…
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the various types of physical universe which could exist according to modern mathematical physics. The paper begins with an introduction that approaches the question from the viewpoint of ontic…
We discuss the status and some perspectives of relativistic quantum physics.
Philosophical reflection on quantum field theory has tended to focus on how it revises our conception of what a particle is. However, there has been relatively little discussion of the threat to the "reality" of particles posed by the…
General relativity and quantum mechanics provide a natural explanation for the existence of dark energy with its observed value and predict its dynamics. Dark energy proves to be necessary for the existence of space-time itself and…
We present the arguments suggesting that time is emergent in quantum gravity and discuss extensively, but without any technical detail, the many aspects that can be involved in such emergence. We refer to both the physical issues that need…