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arXiv:gr-qc/9908011 · Il Nuovo Cimento B

Time emergence by self-measurement in a quantum anisotropic universe

Abel Camacho, A. Camacho-Galván

Published Aug 3, 1999• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We begin this work calculating Halliwell's propagator in the case of a Mixmaster universe with small anisotropy. Afterwards in the context of the Decoherence Model we introduce in our system terms that comprise the self-measurement of the universe of this model by higher multipoles of matter. Analyzing self-measurement with the Restricted Path Integral Formalism we obtain Halliwell's modified propagator and find that a gauge invariant physical time emerges as consequence of this process. The conditions leading to Wheeler-DeWitt dynamics are also obtained. The comparison of our results with those of the isotropic case will enable us to conclude that the number of conditions to be satisfied in order to have Halliwell's regime is in the anisotropic situation bigger than in an isotropic universe. We obtain also in terms of the parameters of the measurement process an expression for the threshold in time beyond which the scale factors of this model are meaningless.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.gr-qc/9908011

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We begin this work calculating Halliwell's propagator in the case of a Mixmaster universe with small anisotropy. Afterwards in the context of the Decoherence Model we introduce in our system terms that comprise the self-measurement of the universe of this model by higher multipoles of matter. Analyzing self-measurement with the Restricted Path Integral Formalism we obtain Halliwell's modified propagator and find that a gauge invariant physical time emerges as consequence of this process. The conditions leading to Wheeler-DeWitt dynamics are also obtained. The comparison of our results with those of the isotropic case will enable us to conclude that the number of conditions to be satisfied in order to have Halliwell's regime is in the anisotropic situation bigger than in an isotropic universe. We obtain also in terms of the parameters of the measurement process an expression for the threshold in time beyond which the scale factors of this model are meaningless.
In this work the possible role that Decoherence Model could play in the emergence of the classical concept of time is analyzed. We take the case of a Mixmaster universe with small anisotropy and construct its Halliwell propagator. Afterwards we introduce in our system terms that comprise the effects of Decoherence Model. This is done by means of the so called Restricted Path Integral Formalism. We obtain Halliwell's modified propagator and find that a gauge invariant physical time emerges as consequence of this process.
The dynamics of the quantum universe under self-measurement is investigated in the framework of the path-integral approach to quantum theory of continuous measurements. The corresponding amplitude (propagator) is evaluated explicitly for a simple superspace model. It is shown that the picture of time evolution of the quantum universe naturally emerges as a result of its self-measurement. The Wheeler-DeWitt dynamics holds for small times when the effect of measurement can be neglected and time dependence disappears.
The dynamics of the quantum universe under self-measurement is investigated in the framework of the path-integral approach to quantum theory of continuous measurements. The corresponding amplitude (propagator) is evaluated explicitly for a simple superspace model. It is shown that the picture of time evolution of the quantum universe naturally emerges as a result of its self-measurement. The Wheeler-DeWitt dynamics holds for small times when the effect of measurement can be neglected and time dependence disappears.
This note studies the emergence of time in a timeless quantum universe using a Wheeler–DeWitt-style constrained model with quantum geometry, clocks, and matter records. The model contains no external time parameter. The total state satisfies a timeless constraint while the geometry register, clock, and matter systems remain fully quantum and entangled. Despite the absence of fundamental time, conditioning on the clock and geometry recovers branch-dependent Schrödinger evolution with the correct redshifted proper-time rates. The work shows that quantum geometry can act as a reference frame for time. An observer without access to the geometry register carries a geometric information deficit, while conditioning on the geometry restores the individual geometric branches exactly. Superposed geometries generate proper-time interference, with matter records determining the transition between quantum time-history interference and classical branch evolution. The central result is an exact emergence-of-time identity: the observable coherence between different geometry branches is equal to the product of geometry coherence and matter-record overlap. When geometry information is fully recorded by matter, the interference between different time histories disappears, and each branch exhibits its own classical Schrödinger evolution. The note also derives a continuous crossover law: the emergence of classical time depends quantitatively on how strongly matter measures the quantum geometry. This connects the relational-time mechanism of Page–Wootters with the semiclassical time program of Kiefer and Zeh in an exactly solvable setting. The results are obtained in finite Wheeler–DeWitt-style toy models with declared assumptions: quantum geometry registers, simplified redshift structure, and no claim of a complete theory of dynamical quantum gravity. Verification and reproducibility materials are included.
This note studies how a universe can generate its own classical records without any external environment or inserted measurement registers. In a solvable anisotropic quantum cosmology model with a Bianchi-I-lite constraint, the two kernel branches correspond to opposite relational arrows of time. The anisotropy degree of freedom evolves differently in the two branches, and this internal motion dynamically writes a record of which relational arrow the universe follows. The paper proves an exact self-decoherence law: the visibility between the two arrow branches is given by the characteristic function of the universe’s own clock-energy distribution. The decoherence rate is determined by the energy variance, and the record–visibility relation satisfies the exact Englert duality. Thus, the same mathematical structure governing information deficits, records, and revival phenomena in the companion framework appears here as a self-generated cosmological decoherence mechanism. The results establish a complete chain: constraint → relational motion → internal records → classicality. Unlike previous exact emergence-of-classicality models in the series, where matter records were introduced as fixed registers, this model generates the records dynamically from the universe’s own degrees of freedom. The universe acts as its own environment. The paper also identifies the boundaries of the result: dispersion returns because of the nonlinear spectrum, and finite-spectrum recurrences appear beyond the declared window. These effects are explicitly analyzed and distinguished from the continuum behavior. The work is limited to a solvable anisotropic minisuperspace model with one anisotropy degree of freedom and a fixed volume-momentum sector. It does not claim a result for full Bianchi cosmology or complete Einstein dynamics. All results are based on pre-registered predictions, computational verification, and reproducibility materials.
This article generalizes the conditional probability interpretation of time in which time evolution is realized through entanglement between a clock and a system of interest. This formalism is based upon conditioning a solution to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation on a subsystem of the Universe, serving as a clock, being in a state corresponding to a time t . Doing so assigns a conditional state to the rest of the Universe | ψ S ( t ) ⟩ , referred to as the system. We demonstrate that when the total Hamiltonian appearing in the Wheeler-DeWitt equation contains an interaction term coupling the clock and system, the conditional state | ψ S ( t ) ⟩ satisfies a time-nonlocal Schrödinger equation in which the system Hamiltonian is replaced with a self-adjoint integral operator. This time-nonlocal Schrödinger equation is solved perturbatively and three examples of clock-system interactions are examined. One example considered supposes that the clock and system interact via Newtonian gravity, which leads to the system's Hamiltonian developing corrections on the order of G / c 4 and inversely proportional to the distance between the clock and system.