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Relativistic Quantum Clocks

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Time in Physics

Abstract

The conflict between quantum theory and the theory of relativity is exemplified in their treatment of time. We examine the ways in which their conceptions differ, and describe a semiclassical clock model combining elements of both theories. The results obtained with this clock model in flat spacetime are reviewed, and the problem of generalizing the model to curved spacetime is discussed, before briefly describing an experimental setup which could be used to test of the model. Taking an operationalist view, where time is that which is measured by a clock, we discuss the conclusions that can be drawn from these results, and what clues they contain for a full quantum relativistic theory of time.

The author “Ivette Fuentes” was previously known as Fuentes-Guridi and Fuentes-Schuller.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ignoring this difficulty, and naively picking some time coordinate, one finds that the Schrödinger equation for a free particle does not possess the necessary symmetry; it is invariant under Galilean (rather than Lorentz) transformations.

  2. 2.

    Note that it is not acceleration but rather its time-derivative (the “jerk”) which produces the effect [64, 65].

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Acknowledgements

MPEL acknowledges support from the EPSRC via the Controlled Quantum Dynamics CDT (EP/G037043/1), and IF acknowledges support from FQXi via the ‘Physics of the observer’ award ‘Quantum Observers in a Relativistic World’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Imperial College, SW7 2AZ, London, UK

    Maximilian P. E. Lock

  2. Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Maximilian P. E. Lock & Ivette Fuentes

  3. School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    Ivette Fuentes

Authors
  1. Maximilian P. E. Lock
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  2. Ivette Fuentes
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Correspondence to Maximilian P. E. Lock .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Renato Renner

  2. Institute for Theoretical Physics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sandra Stupar

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Lock, M.P.E., Fuentes, I. (2017). Relativistic Quantum Clocks. In: Renner, R., Stupar, S. (eds) Time in Physics. Tutorials, Schools, and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences . Birkhäuser, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68655-4_5

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