相关论文: Physical unknowables
In classical mechanics the complexity of a dynamical system is characterized by the rate of local exponential instability which effaces the memory of initial conditions and leads to practical irreversibility. In striking contrast, quantum…
We revisit the vexed question of how unpredictability can arise in a deterministic universe, focusing on unitary quantum theory. We discuss why quantum unpredictability is irrelevant for the possibility of what some people call `free-will',…
Physical laws are a set of rules in the relationship between observations made by the experimenter. All these observations are made through a mechanism that links the external world to the experimenter's awareness, a mechanism which is not…
Equilibrium is a rather ideal situation, the exception rather than the rule in Nature. Whenever the external or internal parameters of a physical system are varied its subsequent relaxation to equilibrium may be either impossible or take…
We consider fundamental physical constants which are among a few of the most important pieces of information we have learned about Nature after its intensive centuries-long studies. We discuss their multifunctional role in modern physics…
In the statistical description of dynamical systems, an indication of the irreversibility of a given state change is given geometrically by means of a (pre-)ordering of state pairs. Reversible state changes of classical and quantum systems…
Many widely different problems have a common mathematical structure wherein limited knowledge lead to ambiguity that can be captured conveniently using a concept of invisibility that requires the introduction of negative values for…
In this work, we show that very natural, apparently simple problems in quantum measurement theory can be undecidable even if their classical analogues are decidable. Undecidability hence appears as a genuine quantum property here. Formally,…
A number of phenomena generally believed characteristic of quantum mechanics and seen as interpretively problematic--the incompatibility and value-indeterminacy of variables, the non-existence of dispersion-free states, the failure of the…
Recent philosophical discussions about metaphysical indeterminacy have been substantiated with the idea that quantum mechanics, one of the most successful physical theories in the history of science, provides explicit instances of worldly…
This paper considers a generalization of the notion of quantum observables in ontological models of quantum mechanics. Within this framework it is possible to construct physical models where quantum noncommutativity can arise dynamically.…
Classical limits of quantum systems are shown to lead to different conceptions of spaces different from the classical one underlying the process of quantization of such systems. The accent is put in situations where traces of…
It is a widespread belief that results like G\"odel's incompleteness theorems or the intrinsic randomness of quantum mechanics represent fundamental limitations to humanity's strive for scientific knowledge. As the argument goes, there are…
The quantum mechanical measurement process is considered. A hypothetical concept of irrational dynamical variables is proposed. A possible definition of measurement is discussed along with a mathematical method to calculate experimental…
There is a persistent confusion about determinism and predictability. In spite of the opinions of some eminent philosophers (e.g., Popper), it is possible to understand that the two concepts are completely unrelated. In few words we can say…
The uncertainty principle is one of the fundamental features of quantum mechanics and plays an essential role in quantum information theory. We study uncertainty relations based on variance for arbitrary finite $N$ quantum observables. We…
The 20th century has revealed two important limitations of scientific knowledge. On the one hand, the combination of Poincar\'e's nonlinear dynamics and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle leads to a world picture where physical reality is,…
Information is everywhere in nature which is very uncertain and unpredictable. But information, in itself, is a very ambiguous term. In this cursory write-up, we attempt to understand the formal meaning of information by quantifying…
A general quantum theory encompassing Mechanics, Thermodynamics and irreversible dynamics is presented in two parts. The first part is concerned exclusively with the description of the states of any individual physical system. It is based…
Uncertainty principle is one of the cornerstones of quantum theory. In the literature, there are two types of uncertainty relations, the operator form concerning the variances of physical observables and the entropy form related to entropic…