Physics & Astronomy Colloquium - Alex Smith, Dartmouth College
Title: "Quantizing Time"
Location
Wilder 104
Sponsored by
Physics & Astronomy Department
Audience
Public
Abstract: The canonical quantization of gravity leads to the Hamiltonian constraint: physical states of the theory are annihilated by the Hamiltonian. Combined with the Schrodinger equation, this constraint dictates that the physical states of the theory do not evolve in time. How then do we explain the time evolution we see around us? The conditional probability interpretation of time offers an answer. In this talk, I will review this interpretation of time and extend the formalism to include the possibility of clocks interacting with the system whose evolution they are tracking. We will see that this results in a time-nonlocal modification to the Schrodinger equation. This generalization is necessary if the conditional probability interpretation of time is to be applied in a quantum gravitational setting.
Location
Wilder 104
Sponsored by
Physics & Astronomy Department
Audience
Public
