Related papers: Quantizing Time
In quantum mechanics time usually appears as classical parameter which means that it is treated as being essentially different from spatial coordinates that are represented by operators. On the other hand, relativity theory demands to treat…
We show how quantum mechanics can be understood as a space-time theory provided that its spatial continuum is modelled by a variable real number (qrumber) continuum. Such a continuum can be constructed using only standard Hilbert space…
We propose a time-of-arrival operator in quantum mechanics by conditioning on a quantum clock. This allows us to bypass some of the problems of previous proposals, and to obtain a Hermitian time of arrival operator whose probability…
Normally we quantize along the space dimensions but treat time classically. But from relativity we expect a high level of symmetry between time and space. What happens if we quantize time using the same rules we use to quantize space? To do…
A physical theory is proposed that obeys both the principles of special relativity and of quantum mechanics. As a key feature, the laws are formulated in terms of quantum events rather than of particle states. Temporal and spatial…
The nature of time in quantum mechanics is closely related to the use of a complex, rather than say real, Hilbert space. This becomes particularly clear when considering quantum field theory in time dependent backgrounds, such as in…
In ordinary, non-relativistic, quantum physics, time enters only as a parameter and not as an observable: a state of a physical system is specified at a given time and then evolved according to the prescribed dynamics. While the state can,…
In this work we present a re-evaluation of the concept of time in non-relativistic quantum theory. We suggest a formalism in which time is changed into the status of an operator, and where expectation values of observables and the state of…
Although time is one of our most intuitive physical concepts, its understanding at the fundamental level is still an open question in physics. For instance, time in quantum mechanics and general relativity are two distinct and incompatible…
In quantum gravity there is no notion of absolute time. Like all other quantities in the theory, the notion of time has to be introduced "relationally", by studying the behavior of some physical quantities in terms of others chosen as a…
Time in relativity theory has a status different from that adopted by standard quantum mechanics, where time is considered as a parameter measured with reference to an external absolute Newtonian frame. This status strongly restricts its…
Quantum theory depends on an external classical time, and there ought to exist an equivalent reformulation of the theory which does not depend on such a time. The demand for the existence of such a reformulation suggests that quantum theory…
A modification of the covariant theory is proposed in which the self-energy of the system, corresponding to time-like degrees of freedom in the configuration space, preserves the classical law of change in quantum theory. As a result,…
The problem of time is a deep paradox in our physical description of the world. According to Aristotle's relational theory, time is a measure of change and does not exist on its own. In contrast, quantum mechanics, just like Newtonian…
In it's usual presentation, classical mechanics appears to give time a very special role. But it is well known that mechanics can be formulated so as to treat the time variable on the same footing as the other variables in the extended…
First, I briefly review the different conceptions of time held by three rival interpretations of quantum theory: the collapse of the wave-packet, the pilot-wave interpretation, and the Everett interpretation (Section 2). Then I turn to a…
The question of how long a particle takes to pass through a potential barrier is still a controversial topic in quantum mechanics. Arguably, the main theoretical problem in obtaining estimates for measurable times is the fact that…
A practical way to deal with the problem of time in quantum cosmology and quantum gravity is proposed. The main tool is effective equations, which mainly restrict explicit considerations to semiclassical regimes but have the crucial…
The problem of time in quantum mechanics concerns the fact that in the Schr\"odinger equation time is a parameter, not an operator. Pauli's objection to a time-energy uncertainty relation analogue to the position-momentum one, conjectured…
This thesis contains an analysis of the problem of time in quantum cosmology and its application to a cosmological minisuperspace model. In the first part, we introduce the problem of time and the theoretical foundations. In the second…