相关论文: Time, the arrow of time, and Quantum Mechanics

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…

If one introduces causality into quantum cosmology, then the prescription for the no-boundary universe should be revised. We show that the thermodymanic arrow of time associated with the perturbation modes should be reversed at the maximum…

This paper presents a unified formulation of the origin of the arrow of time in classical and quantum mechanics. We begin with a mechanical analysis of a one-dimensional three-particle system, which provides a concrete example in which…

We study a quantum theory with complex time parameter and non-Hermitian Hamiltonian structure. In this theory, the real part of the complex time is equal to `usual' physical time, whereas the imaginary one is proportional to inverse…

In this paper we lay out an argument that generically the psychological arrow of time should align with the thermodynamic arrow of time where that arrow is well-defined. This argument applies to any physical system that can act as a memory,…

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…

Microphysical laws are time reversible, but macrophysics, chemistry and biology are not. This chapter explores how this asymmetry (a classic example of a broken symmetry) arises due to the cosmological context, where a non-local Direction…

Three postulates are discussed: first that well-defined properties cannot be assigned to an isolated system, secondly that quantum unitary evolution is atemporal, and thirdly that some physical processes are never reversed. It is argued…

The interface between classical physics and quantum physics is explained from the point of view of quantum information theory (Feynman Processes). The interpretation depends on a hefty sacrifice: the classical determinism or the arrow of…

Time is a parameter playing a central role in our most fundamental modelling of natural laws. Relativity theory shows that the comparison of times measured by different clocks depends on their relative motion and on the strength of the…

Barbour, Hawking, Misner and others have argued that time cannot play an essential role in the formulation of a quantum theory of cosmology. Here we present three challenges to their arguments, taken from works and remarks by Kauffman,…

Recently, a substantial amount of debate has grown up around a proposed quantum resolution to the `arrow of time dilemma' that is based on the role of classical memory records of entropy-decreasing events. In this note we show that the…

While Quantum Gravity remains elusive and Quantum Field Theory retains the interpretational difficulties of Quantum Mechanics, we have introduced an alternate approach to the unification of particles, fields, space and time, suggesting that…

The origin and nature of time in complex systems is explored using quantum (or 'Feynman') clocks and the signals produced by them. Networks of these clocks provide the basis for the evolution of complex systems. The general concept of…

In this article we study the nature of time in Mechanics. The fundamental principle, according to which a mechanical system evolves governed by a second order differential equation, implies the existence of an absolute time-duration in the…

Time is one of those issues about which many thinkers and scientists have tried to pronounce their finest thoughts, but the discourse about time has remained vague and often inconsistent. In this paper we put forward a conceptual framework…

In this review we present the problem of time in quantum physics, including a short history of the problem and the known objections about considering time a quantum observable. The need to deal with time as an observable is elaborated…

In general relativity, cosmology and quantum field theory, spacetime is assumed to be an orientable manifold endowed with a Lorentz metric that makes it spatially and temporally orientable. The question as to whether the laws of physics…

Time is a parameter playing a central role in our most fundamental modelling of natural laws. Relativity theory shows that the comparison of times measured by different clocks depends on their relative motions and on the strength of the…

The treatment of time in relativity does not conform to that in quantum theory. In the context of quantum gravity this is called "the problem of time". A crucial difference is that time $t$ may be seen as an observable in relativity theory,…