Related papers: Time Asymmetry in Quantum Physics - I. Theoretical…
A review of new aspects concerning time-symmetry in Quantum Mechanics.
Mathematical and phenomenological arguments in favor of asymmetric time evolution of micro-physical states are presented.
This essay examines our fundamental conceptions of time, spacetime, the asymmetry of time, and the motion of a quantum mechanical particle. The concept of time has multiple meanings and these are often confused in the literature and must be…
Quantum physics involves an ensemble of quantum systems, usually one thinks of a large ensemble of identical quantum systems at one single time. In single ion experiments one has a single quantum system at an ensemble of different times.…
We investigate two types of temporal symmetry in quantum mechanics. The first type, time symmetry, refers to the inclusion of opposite time orientations on an equivalent physical footing. The second, event symmetry, refers to the inclusion…
Counterfactuals in quantum theory are briefly reviewed and it is argued that they are very different from counterfactuals considered in the general philosophical literature. The issue of time symmetry of quantum counterfactuals is…
The meaning of time asymmetry in quantum physics is discussed. On the basis of a mathematical theorem, the Stone--von Neumann theorem, the solutions of the dynamical equations, the Schr\"odinger equation (1) for states or the Heisenberg…
An asymmetry exists between time and space in the sense that physical systems inevitably evolve over time whereas there is no corresponding ubiquitous translation over space. The asymmetry, which is presumed to be elemental, is represented…
We discover that the energy-integral of time-delay is an adiabatic invariant in quantum scattering theory and corresponds classically to the phase space volume. The integral thus found provides a quantization condition for resonances,…
The possibility of consistency between the basic quantum principles of quantum mechanics and wave function collapse is reexamined. A specific interpretation of environment is proposed for this aim and applied to decoherence. When the…
Quantum effects arising from manifestly broken time-reversal symmetry are investigated using time-dependent perturbation theory in a simple model. The forward time and the backward time Hamiltonians are taken to be different and hence the…
Quantum asymmetry is a physical resource which coincides with the amount of coherence between the eigenspaces of a generator responsible for phase encoding in interferometric experiments. We highlight an apparently counter-intuitive…
It is demonstrated how a convenient choice of the mathematical structure of the quantum cosmology superspace, precisely the definition of a convenient regular state superspace and the restriction of the dynamics to this space, yields…
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 reduction mechanism resulting directly from the basic principles of quantum mechanics is proposed, inseparably from decoherence. A rather consistent theory of this effect is given and the next problems it raises are indicated.
The canonical answer to the question posed is "Yes." -- tacitly assuming that quantum theory and the concept of spacetime are to be unified by `quantizing' a theory of gravitation. Yet, instead, one may ponder: Could quantum mechanics arise…
There exists a stark tension among different formulations of quantum theory as some are inherently time-symmetric while others are time-asymmetric. This tension is crisply captured when considering physical theories as theories of…
A physical theory of the world is presented under the unifying principle that all of nature is laid out before us and experienced through the passage of time. The one-dimensional progression in time is opened out into a multi-dimensional…
A two boundary quantum mechanics without time ordered causal structure is advocated as consistent theory. The apparent causal structure of usual "near future" macroscopic phenomena is attributed to a cosmological asymmetry and to rules…
Under certain conditions, the quantum delta-kicked harmonic oscillator displays quantum resonances. We consider an atom-optical realization of the delta-kicked harmonic oscillator, and present a theoretical discussion of the quantum…