Time Symmetry in Microphysics

Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 00:07:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Huw Price <huw@mail.usyd.edu.au>
To: quantum-d@teleport.com
Subject: Time Symmetry in Microphysics


QUANTUM-D readers may be interested in a new paper of mine, "Time
Symmetry in Microphysics", now available at

      http://plato.stanford.edu/price/preprints/PSA96.html

or as a downloadable RTF file, at

      http://plato.stanford.edu/price/preprints/PSA96.rtf

The paper itself is a bit long to post, but here's an abstract:

      Physics normally takes for granted that interacting physical systems
      with no common history are independent, before their interaction.
      This principle is time-asymmetric, for no such restriction applies
      after an interaction to systems with no common future. The time
      asymmetry is normally attributed to boundary conditions. I argue
      that there are two distinct independence principles of this kind at
      work in contemporary physics, one of which cannot be attributed to
      boundary conditions, and therefore conflicts with the assumed T (or
      CPT) symmetry of microphysics. I note that this may have
      interesting ramifications in quantum mechanics.

In effect, the paper presents a tighter version of the main argument
from chapter 5 of my recent book "Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point"
(see http://plato.stanford.edu/price/TAAP.html).

Comments are most welcome, either via QUANTUM-D or by e-mail to me.

Huw Price.