Related papers: Space-Time and Probability
Probabilistic Spacetime is a simple generalization of the classical model of spacetime in General Relativity, such that it allows to consider multiple metric field realizations endowed with probabilities. The motivation for such a…
A "geometric" intepretation of probability is proposed, modelled on the treatment of tense in 4-dimensional spacetime. It is applied to Everett's approach to quantum mechanics, as formulated in terms of consistent histories. Standard…
In this two-part essay, we distinguish several senses in which general relativity has been regarded as "locally special relativistic". Here, in Part 1, we focus on senses in which a relativistic spacetime has been said to be "locally…
We show that a topology can be defined in the four dimensional space-time of special relativity so as to obtain a topological semigroup for time. The Minkowski 4-vector character of space-time elements as well as the key properties of…
A modern elementary introduction to special relativity for advanced school children or first-year university students, in Russian. I try to demonstrate that relativity does not contradict common sense; on the contrary, it follows from…
With special relativity, we seem to be facing a conundrum. It is a very well-tested theory; in this way, the Minkowski spacetime must be "capturing" essential features of space and time. However, its geometry seems to be incompatible with…
We summarize the arguments that space and time are likely to be emergent notions; i.e. they are not present in the fundamental formulation of the theory, but appear as approximate macroscopic concepts. Along the way we briefly review…
Physicists have, hitherto, mostly adopted a frequentist conception of probability, according to which probability statements apply only to ensembles. It is argued that we should, instead, adopt an epistemic, or Bayesian conception, in which…
It will be shown that, in comparison with the pre-relativistic Galileo-invariant conceptions, special relativity tells us nothing new about the geometry of spacetime. It simply calls something else "spacetime", and this something else has…
Quantum measurement predictions are consistent with relativity for macroscopic observations, but there is no consensus on how to explain this consistency in fundamental terms. The prevailing assumption is that the relativistic structure of…
General relativity is a background-independent theory of a dynamical classical spacetime geometry. Quantum theory is formulated in a classical spacetime, as an intrinsically probabilistic, contextual theory of non-classical, interfering…
As repeatedly emphasized by Einstein our knowledge of the structure of space and time is based entirely on inferences from observations of physical objects and processes. At the most fundamental level these objects and processes are…
Special relativity turns out to be more than coordinate transformations in which the constancy of the speed of light plays the central role between two inertial reference frames. Special relativity, in essence, is a theory of…
Rather than an a priori arena in which events take place, space-time is a construction of our mind making possible a particular kind of ordering of events. As quantum entanglement is a property of states independent of classical distances,…
We present a novel derivation of both the Minkowski metric and Lorentz transformations from the consistent quantification of a causally ordered set of events with respect to an embedded observer. Unlike past derivations, which have relied…
I discuss the meaning of probability in the Everett-Wheeler interpretation of quantum mechanics, together with the problem of defining histories. To resolve these, I propose an understanding of probability arising from a form of temporal…
We study in this paper different topos-theoretical approaches to the problem of construction of General Theory of Relativity. In general case the resulting space-time theory will be non-classical, different from that of the usual Einstein…
The special theory of relativity has fundamentally changed our views of space and time. The relativity of simultaneity in particular, and the theory of relativity as a whole, still presents significant difficulty for beginners in the…
We present the theory of special relativity here through the lens of differential geometry. In particular, we explicitly avoid any reference to hypotheses of the form "The laws of physics take the same form in all inertial reference frames"…
The special theory of relativity is constructed demanding the retention of the rectilinear form of a trajectory and invariance of the wave equation under linear transformations of space and time coordinates. The usual approach to relativity…