相关论文: A quantum arrow of time

Microscopic physical laws are time-symmetric, hence, a priori there exists no preferential temporal direction. However, the second law of thermodynamics allows one to associate the "forward" temporal direction to a positive variation of the…

Time-asymmetric spacetime structures, in particular those representing black holes and the expansion of the universe, are intimately related to other arrows of time, such as the second law and the retardation of radiation. The nature of the…

The perspective is advanced that the time parameter in quantum mechanics corresponds to the time coordinate in a Minkowski flat spacetime local approximation to the actual dynamical curved spacetime of General Relativity, rather than to an…

Repeated unbiased measurements cause a continual application of the weak causality principle, leading to an apparent arrow of time for continuously-monitored quantum systems.

We investigate the origin of the arrow of time in quantum mechanics in the context of quantum cosmology. The ``Copenhagen'' quantum mechanics of measured subsystems incorporates a fundamental arrow of time. Extending discussions of…

Time plays a crucial role in the intuitive understanding of the world around us. Within quantum mechanics, however, time is not usually treated as an observable quantity; it enters merely as a parameter in the laws of motion of physical…

We discuss the treatment of quantum-gravitational fluctuations in the space-time background as an `environment', using the formalism for open quantum-mechanical systems, which leads to a microscopic arrow of time. After reviewing briefly…

It is shown, that quantum theory with complex evolutionary time parameter and non-Hermitian Hamiltonian structure can be used for natural unification of quantum and thermodynamic principles. The theory is postulated as analytical in respect…

A model quantum cosmology is used to illustrate how arrows of time emerge in a universe governed by a time-neutral dynamical theory constrained by time asymmetric initial and final boundary conditions represented by initial and final…

It was previously argued that the phenomenon of quantum gravitational decoherence described by the Wheeler-DeWitt equation is responsible for the emergence of the arrow of time. Here we show that the characteristic spatio-temporal scales of…

It is generally believed that a cosmological arrow of time must be associated with entropy production. Indeed, in his seminal work on cyclic cosmology, Tolman introduced a viscous fluid in order to make successive expansion/contraction…

We consider the classical concept of time of permanence and observe that its quantum equivalent is described by a bona fide self-adjoint operator. Its interpretation, by means of the spectral theorem, reveals that we have to abandon not…

The second law of thermodynamics - the usual statement of the arrow of time - has been called the most fundamental law of physics. It is thus difficult to conceive that a single dynamical system could contain subsystems, in significant…

This essay offers a meta-level analysis in the sociology and history of physics in the context of the so-called "Arrow of Time Problem" or "Two Times Problem," which asserts that the empirically observed directionality of time is in…

We demonstrate that in quantum many-body systems, local arrows of time can differ from the global time $t$ induced by Hamiltonian evolution. That is, within a quantum many-body system, the flow of time can be relative to each observer or by…

This paper is a natural continuation of our previous paper arXiv:1011.4173 . We illustrated earlier that in classical Hamilton mechanics, for overwhelming majority of real chaotic macroscopic systems, alignment of their thermodynamic time…

We provide a new perspective on the close relationship between entanglement and time. Our main focus is on bipartite entanglement, where this connection is foreshadowed both in the positive partial transpose criterion due to Peres [A.…

A spin precessing in a magnetic field is often used as a quantum clock, for example in tunneling-time measurements. We show that such a clock can exist in a coherent superposition of opposite temporal orientations, treating the arrow of…

In [Sch05a], it is argued that Boltzmann's intuition, that the psychological arrow of time is necessarily aligned with the thermodynamic arrow, is correct. Schulman gives an explicit physical mechanism for this connection, based on the…

Two of the most difficult problems in the foundations of physics are (1) what gives rise to the arrow of time and (2) what the ontology of quantum mechanics is. I propose a unified 'Humean' solution to the two problems. Humeanism allows us…