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Updated: Jul 12, 2025
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A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
Published on: September 5, 2019
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Emergence of Time from Quantum Interaction with the Environment
Sebastian Gemsheim1, Jan M Rost1
1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, D-01187 Dresden, Germany.
Physical Review Letters
|October 20, 2023
Summary
This study supports the relational concept of time by deriving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, accounting for system-environment interactions. This advances understanding of emergent time in quantum mechanics for dynamical and entangled systems.
Area of Science:
- Quantum mechanics
- Foundations of physics
- Theoretical physics
Background:
- The concept of emergent time was previously proposed by Page and Wootters, neglecting system-environment interactions.
- Relational time theories explore time as an emergent property derived from system-environment relationships.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide strong support for the relational concept of time.
- To derive the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a system by including system-environment interactions.
Main Methods:
- Derivation of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation from a global Hamiltonian.
- Inclusion of system, environment, and their interaction without approximation.
- Analysis within a quantum mechanical framework.
Main Results:
- Successfully derived the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a system.
- Demonstrated consistency with emergent time concepts that incorporate interactions.
- Showcased the applicability to dynamical phenomena in interacting and entangled quantum systems.
Conclusions:
- The inclusion of system-environment coupling strengthens the relational time approach.
- This work bridges a gap in relational time theories by incorporating interactions.
- The findings open new avenues for studying emergent time in complex quantum systems.
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