Quantum-Mechanical Time

Jan Hilgevoord, David Atkinson

Unlike classical mechanics, quantum mechanics assumes the famous Heisenberg uncertainty relations. One of these concerns time: the energy–time uncertainty relation. Unlike the canonical position–momentum uncertainty relation, the energy–time relation is not reflected in the operator formalism of quantum theory. Indeed, it is often said and taken as problematic that there is not a so-called “time operator” in quantum theory. This chapter sheds light on these questions and others, including the absorbing matter of whether quantum mechanics allows for the existence of ideal clocks. The second section notes that quantum mechanics does not involve a special problem for time, and that there is no fundamental asymmetry between space and time in quantum mechanics over and above the asymmetry which already exists in classical physics. The third section studies time operators in detail. The fourth section discusses various uncertainty relations involving time.

A time fractional quantum framework has been introduced into quantum mechanics.A new version of the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation has been launched.The introduced space-time fractional Schrödinger equation has a new scale parameter, which is a fractional generalization of Planck's constant in quantum physics.It has been shown that the presence of a time fractional time derivative in the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation significantly impacts quantum mechanical fundamentals.Time fractional quantum mechanical operators of coordinate, momentum and angular momentum were defined and their commutation relationships were established.The pseudo-Hamilton operator was introduced and its Hermicity has been proven.Two new functions related to the Mittag-Leffler function have been introduced to solve the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation.Energy of a time fractional quantum system has been defined and calculated in terms of the newly introduced functions.It has been found that in the framework of time fractional quantum mechanics there are no stationary states, and the eigenvalues of the pseudo-Hamilton operator are not the energy levels of the time fractional quantum system.A free particle solution to the space-time fractional Schrödinger equation was found.A free particle space-time fractional quantum mechanical kernel has been found and expressed in terms of the H-function.Renormalization properties of a free particle solution and the space-time fractional quantum kernel were established.Some particular cases of time fractional quantum mechanics have been analyzed and discussed.

A. Ruschhaupt, Reinhard F. Werner

George Jaroszkiewicz

Could time be discrete on some unimaginably small scale? Exploring the idea in depth, this unique introduction to discrete time mechanics systematically builds the theory up from scratch, beginning with the historical, physical and mathematical background to the chronon hypothesis. Covering classical and quantum discrete time mechanics, this book presents all the tools needed to formulate and develop applications of discrete time mechanics in a number of areas, including spreadsheet mechanics, classical and quantum register mechanics, and classical and quantum mechanics and field theories. A consistent emphasis on contextuality and the observer-system relationship is maintained throughout.