我们考虑文献 [E. A. Galapon, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A, 458:2671 (2002)] 中引入的特征时间算符 $\mathsf{T}$，它是有界且自伴的。对于一个满足一定增长条件的半有界离散哈密顿量 $\mathsf{H}$，$\mathsf{T}$ 在希尔伯特空间的一个稠密子空间中的态 $|ψ\rangle$ 上满足正则关系 $[\mathsf{T},\mathsf{H}]|ψ\rangle=i\hbar|ψ\rangle$。虽然 $\mathsf{T}$ 不具有协变性，但我们证明它仍然在一个总测度为零的时间集合上满足正则关系，该集合被称为时间不变集 $\mathscr{T}$。在 $\mathscr{T}$ 中每个时间 $t$ 的邻域内，$\mathsf{T}$ 仍然与 $\mathsf{H}$ 正则共轭，并且其期望值给出参数时间。它的二维投影在 $\mathscr{T}$ 的邻域内饱和时间-能量不确定性关系，并且正比于泡利矩阵 $σ_y$。因此，可以通过测量一个相容的可观测量来构造一个量子钟，在 $\mathscr{T}$ 的邻域内指示时间。
英文摘要：
We consider the characteristic time operator $\mathsf{T}$ introduced in [E. A. Galapon, Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A, 458:2671 (2002)] which is bounded and self-adjoint. For a semibounded discrete Hamiltonian $\mathsf{H}$ with some growth condition, $\mathsf{T}$ satisfies the canonical relation $[\mathsf{T},\mathsf{H}]|ψ\rangle=i\hbar|ψ\rangle$ for $|ψ\rangle$ in a dense subspace of the Hilbert space. While $\mathsf{T}$ is not covariant, we show that it still satisfies the canonical relation in a set of times of total measure zero called the time invariant set $\mathscr{T}$. In the neighborhood of each time $t$ in $\mathscr{T}$, $\mathsf{T}$ is still canonically conjugate to $\mathsf{H}$ and its expectation value gives the parametric time. Its two-dimensional projection saturates the time-energy uncertainty relation in the neighborhood of $\mathscr{T}$, and is proportional to the Pauli matrix $σ_y$. Thus, one can construct a quantum clock that tells the time in the neighborhood of $\mathscr{T}$ by measuring a compatible observable.
In the framework of any quantum theory in the Schroedinger picture a general operator time concept is given. For this purpose certain systems are emphasized as ideal quantum clocks. Their definition follows heuristically from a common property of ideal clocks and from general postulates of traditional quantum theory. Any such ideal quantum clock allows the definition of a symmetric time operator T. T and the Hamiltonian H necessarily satisfy the time-energy uncertainty relation. The argument of Pauli against the existence of any time operator does not strike, because T is symmetric but not sel…
Electron channeling in silicon crystals has brought forward the possibility of having detected a particle's "internal clock", as an intrinsic oscillation with de Broglie's frequency. The transmission probability along a major axial direction is reduced with respect to neighboring angles, except for a sharp peak at the atomic row direction. The pattern observed is a "W" instead of a "U". This central peak is attributed to a process known as "rosette motion", in which the crossing of successive atoms would be related to the de Broglie frequency. A classical multiple scattering calculation found …
We discuss some fundamental properties of discrete system-time history states. Such states arise for a quantum reference clock of finite dimension and lead to a unitary evolution of system states when satisfying a static discrete Wheeler-DeWitt-type equation. We consider the general case where system-clock pairs can interact, analyzing first their different representations and showing there is always a special clock basis for which the evolution for a given initial state can be described by a constant Hamiltonian $H$. It is also shown, however, that when the evolution operators form a complete…
Stochastic systems consisting of a very large number of independent elementary processes of the same kind, especially the radioactive decay, are considered as quantum clocks. By adapting the framework of the previously introduced concept of ideal quantum clocks, the time operator for these systems is derived and discussed. It is shown that the standard deviation of time measurement by such a stochastic device is bounded from below by the limitation of the number of elementary processes from physical reasons and by the Planck-time. As a result, any time dilatation, whether caused by extreme spe…
Continuous clocks, i.e. the clocks that measure time in a continuous manner, are regarded as an essential component of sensing technology. Precision and recurrence time are two basic features of continuous clocks. In this paper, in the framework of quantum estimation theory various models for continuous quantum clocks are proposed, where all tools of quantum estimation theory are employed to seek the characteristics of clocks with high precision and long recurrence time. Then, in a resource-based approach, the performance of the proposed models is compared. It is shown that quantum clocks base…
The recently introduced concept of an "ideal quantum clock" (IQC) is extended. Especially it is shown that the time operator of an IQC is canonically conjugated to the Hamiltonian of the IQC in a certain pre-Hilbert space. Further it is discussed how the IQC interacts with another physical system D and to what extent the IQC measures the time differences of any prescribed initial and final states of D.
Time in quantum mechanics is peculiar: it is an observable that cannot be associated to an Hermitian operator. As a consequence it is impossible to explain dynamics in an isolated system without invoking an external classical clock, a fact that becomes particularly problematic in the context of quantum gravity. An unconventional solution was pioneered by Page and Wootters (PaW) in 1983. PaW showed that dynamics can be an emergent property of the entanglement between two subsystems of a static Universe. In this work we first investigate the possibility to introduce in this framework a Hermitian…
There are a number of problematic features within the current treatment of time in physical theories, including the "timelessness" of the Universe as encapsulated by the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. This paper considers one particular investigation into resolving this issue; a conditional probability interpretation that was first proposed by Page and Wooters. Those authors addressed the apparent timelessness by subdividing a faux Universe into two entangled parts, "the clock" and "the remainder of the Universe", and then synchronizing the effective dynamics of the two subsystems by way of conditio…
The ``problem of time'' has been a pressing issue in quantum gravity for some time. To help understand this problem, Rovelli proposed a model of a two harmonic oscillators system where one of the oscillators can be thought of as a ``clock'' for the other oscillator thus giving a natural time reference frame for the system. Recently, the author has constructed an explicit form for the coherent states on the reduced phase space of this system in terms of Klauder's projection operator approach. In this paper, by using coherent state representations and other tools from coherent state quantization…
A number of approaches to the problem of defining arrival and dwell time probabilities in quantum theory make use of idealised models of clocks. An interesting question is the extent to which the probabilities obtained in this way are related to standard semiclassical results. In this paper we explore this question using a reasonably general clock model, solved using path integral methods. We find that in the weak coupling regime where the energy of the clock is much less than the energy of the particle it is measuring, the probability for the clock pointer can be expressed in terms of the pro…
We provide the most general forms of covariant and normalized time operators and their probability densities, with applications to quantum clocks, the time of arrival, and Lyapunov quantum operators. Examples are discussed of the profusion of possible operators and their physical meaning. Criteria to define unique, optimal operators for specific cases are given.
Schroedinger's equation says that the Hamiltonian is the generator of time translations. This seems to imply that any reasonable definition of time operator must be conjugate to the Hamiltonian. Then both time and energy must have the same spectrum since conjugate operators are unitarily equivalent. Clearly this is not always true: normal Hamiltonians have lower bounded spectrum and often only have discrete eigenvalues, whereas we typically desire that time can take any real value. Pauli concluded that constructing a general a time operator is impossible (although clearly it can be done in spe…
In standard quantum theory, time is not an observable. It enters as a parameter in the Schrödinger equation, but there is no measurement operator associated to it. Nevertheless, one may take an operational viewpoint and regard time as the information one can read from clocks. The Alternate Ticks Game, introduced in arXiv:1506.01373, is a completely operational means to quantify the accuracy of time scales generated by clocks. The idea is to count the number of ticks that two copies of a clock can produce until they run out of synchronisation. Here we investigate the performance of stochastic c…
We construct an operator for the Aharonov-Anandan phase for time independent Hamiltonians. This operator is shown to generate the motion of cyclic quantum systems through an equation of evolution involving only geometric quantities, i.e. the distance between quantum states, the geometric phase and the total length of evolution. From this equation, we derive an operator for the Samuel and Bhandari phase (SB-phase) for non cyclic evolutions. Finally we show how the SB-phase can be used to construct an operator corresponding to a quantum clock which commutator with the Hamiltonian has a canonical…
In this work we will advance farther along a line previously developed concerning our proposal of a time interval operator, on finite dimensional spaces. The time interval operator is Hermitian, and its eigenvalues are time values with a precise and interesting role on the dynamics. With the help of the Discrete Phase Space Formalism (DPSF) previously developed, we show that the time interval operator is the complementary pair of the Hamiltonian. From that, a simple system is proposed as a quantum clock. The only restriction is that our results do not apply to all possible Hamiltonians.
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 $|ψ_S(t)\rangle$, referred to as the system. We demonstrate that when the total Hamiltonian appearing in the Wheeler-DeWitt equation contains an interaction term coupling the clo…
The local conservation of a physical quantity whose distribution changes with time is mathematically described by the continuity equation. The corresponding time parameter, however, is defined with respect to an idealized classical clock. We consider what happens when this classical time is replaced by a non-relativistic quantum-mechanical description of the clock. From the clock-dependent Schrödinger equation (as analogue of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation) we derive a continuity equation, where, instead of a time-derivative, an operator occurs that depends on the flux (probability cu…
Superradiant lasers based on atomic ensembles exhibiting ultra-narrow optical transitions can emit light of unprecedented spectral purity and may serve as active atomic clocks. We consider two frequency-detuned active atomic clocks, which are coupled in a cascaded setup, i.e. as master & slave lasers, and study the synchronization of the slave to the master clock. In a setup where both atomic ensembles are coupled to a common cavity mode such synchronization phenomena have been predicted by Xu et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 154101 (2014)] and experimentally observed by Weiner et al. [arXiv:1503…
We show that the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) is the phenomenological dynamical law of evolution unraveled in the classical limit from a timeless formulation in terms of probability amplitudes conditioned by the values of suitably chosen internal clock variables, thereby unifying the conditional probability interpretation (CPI) and the semiclassical approach for the problem of time in quantum theory. Our formalism stems from an exact factorization of the Hamiltonian eigenfunction of the clock plus system composite, where the clock and system factors play the role of marginal and …
Alkaline-earth (AE) atoms have metastable clock states with minute-long optical lifetimes, high-spin nuclei, and SU($N$)-symmetric interactions that uniquely position them for advancing atomic clocks, quantum information processing, and quantum simulation. The interplay of precision measurement and quantum many-body physics is beginning to foster an exciting scientific frontier with many opportunities. Few particle systems provide a window to view the emergence of complex many-body phenomena arising from pairwise interactions. Here, we create arrays of isolated few-body systems in a fermionic …
We have previously shown (arXiv:1912.00033) that three approaches to relational quantum dynamics -- relational Dirac observables, the Page-Wootters formalism and quantum deparametrizations -- are equivalent. Here we show that this `trinity' of relational quantum dynamics holds in relativistic settings per frequency superselection sector. We ascribe the time according to the clock subsystem to a POVM which is covariant with respect to its (quadratic) Hamiltonian. This differs from the usual choice of a self-adjoint clock observable conjugate to the clock momentum. It also resolves Kuchař's crit…
We introduced with coauthors some years ago a solution to the problem of time in quantum gravity which consists in formulating the quantum theory in terms of real clocks. It combines Page and Wootters' relational proposal with Rovelli's evolving constants of the motion. Time is associated with an operator and not a classical parameter. We show here that this construction provides a natural solution to the time of arrival problem in quantum mechanics and leads to a well defined time-energy uncertainty relation for the clocks.
Aharonov-Kaufherr model of quantum space-time which accounts Reference Frames (RF) quantum effects is considered in Relativistic Quantum Mechanics framework. For RF connected with some macroscopic object its free quantum motion - wave packet smearing results in additional uncertainty of test particle coordinate. Due to the same effects the use of Galilean or Lorentz transformations for this RFs becomes incorrect and the special quantum space-time transformations are introduced. In particular for any RF the proper time becomes the operator in other RF. This time operator calculated solving rela…
A First Bound on the Moffat Energy and Thorium-229 Clock as a Probe of the Nonlocal Time-Energy Structure and a Proposed Experiment for the use of Nuclear Entanglement and Squeezed States to Test Nonlocal Quantum Field Theory
Wilfrid Laurier University（韦仕兰大学）；University of Waterloo（滑铁卢大学）；Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics（基础物理研究所）
