2006/11/03 by Andrew Steane, Andrew M. Steane · 1 citation
Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Biofield Effects and Biophysics #Classical mechanics #Consistent histories #Epistemology #Interpretation (philosophy) #Interpretations of quantum mechanics #Law #Measurement problem #Objectivity (philosophy) #Origins and Evolution of Life #Philosophy #Physical system #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum dynamics #Quantum mechanics #Quantum process #Relational quantum mechanics #Spacetime #Theoretical physics #Unitary state #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1751-8113/40/12/s21
19 pages. For special issue of J.Phys.A, "The Quantum Universe", on the occasion of 70th birthday of Professor Giancarlo Ghirardi
arxiv created 2006/11/03 · openalex publication_date 2007/03/07 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Three postulates are discussed: first that well-defined properties cannot be assigned to an isolated system, second that quantum unitary evolution is atemporal, and third that some physical processes are never reversed. It is argued that these give useful insight into quantum behaviour. The first postulate emphasizes the fundamental role in physics of interactions and correlations, as opposed to internal properties of systems. Statements about physical interactions can only be framed in a context of further interactions. This undermines the possibility of objectivity in physics. However, quantum mechanics retains objectivity through the combination of the second and third postulates. A rule is given for determining the circumstances in which physical evolution is non-unitary. This rule appeals to the absence of spacetime loops in the future evolution of a set of interacting systems. A single universe undergoing non-unitary evolution is a viable interpretation.