Dr. Jonathan Dowling
Louisiana State University
Project Title:
Quantum Measurement in the Timeless Universe
Summary:
One of the fundamental rules of quantum theory, known as the measurement postulate, forces the future to be treated very differently from the past. This observation has come to be known as the "quantum mechanical arrow of time." This leads to a deep paradox, however, when we attempt to use quantum theory to describe gravity and cosmology, because our theories of gravity and cosmology do not describe how physical objects change with time; instead, they describe how physical objects change with respect to each other. In a very literal sense, the physical laws describing the universe itself are timeless. Our goal is to reconcile this timeless nature of the universe with quantum theory's definite "arrow of time." To accomplish this, we need to go back to the foundations of quantum theory and re-write the measurement postulate itself, using the modern-day tools of information theory. By invoking the field of information theory, we expect that the resulting framework should not only describe the emergence of time's arrow, but that it will also enable us to make fundamental statements about what we as observers can learn about our universe from within universe itself.
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Louisiana State University
Project Title:
Quantum Measurement in the Timeless Universe
Summary:
One of the fundamental rules of quantum theory, known as the measurement postulate, forces the future to be treated very differently from the past. This observation has come to be known as the "quantum mechanical arrow of time." This leads to a deep paradox, however, when we attempt to use quantum theory to describe gravity and cosmology, because our theories of gravity and cosmology do not describe how physical objects change with time; instead, they describe how physical objects change with respect to each other. In a very literal sense, the physical laws describing the universe itself are timeless. Our goal is to reconcile this timeless nature of the universe with quantum theory's definite "arrow of time." To accomplish this, we need to go back to the foundations of quantum theory and re-write the measurement postulate itself, using the modern-day tools of information theory. By invoking the field of information theory, we expect that the resulting framework should not only describe the emergence of time's arrow, but that it will also enable us to make fundamental statements about what we as observers can learn about our universe from within universe itself.
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