Timeless configuration space and the emergence of classical behavior

DOI10.1007/S10701-018-0172-1zbMATH Open1394.81015arXiv1504.02818OpenAlexW2952741766WikidataQ129769346 ScholiaQ129769346MaRDI QIDQ725546FDOQ725546

Authors: Henrique Gomes 

Publication date: 1 August 2018

Published in: Foundations of Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: The inherent difficulty in talking about quantum decoherence in the context of quantum cosmology is that decoherence requires subsystems, and cosmology is the study of the whole Universe. Consistent histories gave a possible answer to this conundrum, by phrasing decoherence as loss of interference between alternative histories of closed systems. When one can apply Boolean logic to a set of histories, it is deemed 'consistent'. However, the vast majority of the sets of histories that are merely consistent are blatantly nonclassical in other respects, and further constraints than just consistency need to be invoked. In this paper, I attempt to give an alternative answer to the issues faced by consistent histories, by exploring a timeless interpretation of quantum mechanics of closed systems. This is done solely in terms of path integrals in non-relativistic, timeless, configuration space. What prompts a fresh look at such foundational problems in this context is the advent of multiple gravitational models in which Lorentz symmetry is not fundamental, but only emergent. And what allows this approach to overcome previous barriers to a timeless, conditional probabilities interpretation of quantum mechanics is the new notion of records -- made possible by an inherent asymmetry of configuration space. I outline and explore consequences of this approach for foundational issues of quantum mechanics, such as the natural emergence of the Born rule, conservation of probabilities, and the Sleeping Beauty paradox.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1504.02818

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zbMATH Keywords

recordsBayesian updatingEverettBorn probabilitiesmany-instants

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Asymptotic properties of parametric tests (62F05) General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) Quantum measurement theory, state operations, state preparations (81P15) Relativistic cosmology (83F05)

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Cited In (1)

• From classical infinite space-time CA to a hybrid CA model for natural sciences modeling

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