The auxiliary rules of quantum mechanics can be written without the Born rule by using what are called the nRules. The nRules are understood in part by making certain modifications in the Hamiltonian. In this paper, those modifications are written directly into the nRules, reducing their number from four to three. It is shown that the nRules in either form provide for a definite direction in time, guaranteeing that a statistically irreversible interaction is absolutely irreversible.
Physical laws for elementary particles can be described by the quantum dynamics equation given a Hamiltonian. The solution are probability amplitudes in Hilbert space that evolve over time. A probability density function over position and time is given as the magnitude square of such probability amplitude. An entropy can be associated with these probability densities characterizing the position information of a particle. Coherent states are localized wave packets and may describe the spatial distribution for some particle states. We show that due to a dispersion property of Hamiltonians in qua…
We introduce a self-adjoint operator that indicates the direction of time within the framework of standard quantum mechanics. That is, as a function of time its expectation value decreases monotonically for any initial state. This operator can be defined for any system governed by a Hamiltonian with a uniformly finitely degenerate, absolutely continuous and semibounded spectrum. We study some of the operator's properties and illustrate them for a large equivalence class of scattering problems. We also discuss some previous attempts to construct such an operator, and show that the no-go theorem…
Open quantum systems are often represented by non-Hermitian effective Hamiltonians that have complex eigenvalues associated with resonances. In previous work we showed that the evolution of tight-binding open systems can be represented by an explicitly time-reversal symmetric expansion involving all the discrete eigenstates of the effective Hamiltonian. These eigenstates include complex-conjugate pairs of resonant and anti-resonant states. An initially time-reversal-symmetric state contains equal contributions from the resonant and anti-resonant states. Here we show that as the state evolves i…
New time-dependent treatment of tunneling from localized state to continuum is proposed. It does not use the Laplace transform (Green's function's method) and can be applied for time-dependent potentials, as well. This approach results in simple expressions describing dynamics of tunneling to Markovian and non-Markovian reservoirs in the time-interval $-\infty<t<\infty$. It can provide a new outlook for tunneling in the negative time region, illuminating the origin of the time's arrow problem in quantum mechanics. We also concentrate on singularity at $t=0$, which affects the perturbative expa…
Leggett Garg inequalities (LGIs) test the incompatibility between the notion of macrorealism and quantum mechanics. For unitary dynamics, the optimal quantum violation of an LGI is constrained by the Lüders bound. However, the LGIs does not provide the necessary and sufficient for macrorealism. A suitably formulated set of no-signaling in time (NSIT) conditions along with the arrow-of-time (AOT) condition provides the same. In this paper, we study two formulations in the three-time LG scenario, viz., the standard LGIs and the recently formulated variant of LGIs when the system evolves under $\…
In classical thermodynamics, heat cannot spontaneously pass from a colder system to a hotter system, which is called the thermodynamic arrow of time. However, if the initial states are entangled, the direction of the thermodynamic arrow of time may not be guaranteed. Here we take the thermofield double state at $0+1$ dimension as the initial state and assume its gravity duality to be the eternal black hole in AdS$_2$ space. We make the temperature difference between the two sides by changing the Hamiltonian. We turn on proper interaction between the two sides and calculate the changes in energ…
In recent works we have used quantum tools in the analysis of the time evolution of several macroscopic systems. The main ingredient in our approach is the self-adjoint Hamiltonian $H$ of the system $\Sc$. This Hamiltonian quite often, and in particular for systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom, gives rise to reversible and oscillatory dynamics. Sometimes this is not what physical reasons suggest. We discuss here how to use non self-adjoint Hamiltonians to overcome this difficulty: the time evolution we obtain out of them show a preferable arrow of time, and it is not reversible. …
The extrinsic quantum mechanical arrow of time is understood to be a consequence of the interaction between quantum systems and their environment. A choice of boundary conditions for the Schrödinger equation results in a different time asymmetry intrinsic to quantum mechanical dynamics and independent of environmental interactions. Correct application of the intrinsically asymmetric dynamics, however, leads unavoidably to predictions of the experimental signatures of the extrinsic arrow of time. We are led to a new, model-independent mechanism for quantum decoherence. We need not invoke a mast…
It is one of the most important and long-standing issues of physics to derive the irreversibility out of a time-reversal symmetric equation of motion. The present paper considers the breaking of the time-reversal symmetry in open quantum systems and the emergence of an arrow of time. We claim that the time-reversal symmetric Schrödinger equation can have eigenstates that break the time-reversal symmetry if the system is open in the sense that it has at least a countably infinite number of states. Such eigenstates, namely the resonant and anti-resonant states, have complex eigenvalues. We show …
Entanglement is a holistic property of multipartite quantum systems, which is accompanied by the establishment of nonclassical correlations between subsystems. Most entanglement mechanisms can be described by a coherent interaction Hamiltonian, and entanglement develops over time. In other words, the generation of entanglement has a time arrow. Dissipative structure theory directs the evolving time arrow of a non-equilibrium system. By dissipating energy to the environment, the system establishes order out of randomness. This is also referred to as self-organization. Here, we explore a new mec…
Concepts like `typicality' and the `eigenstate thermalization hypothesis' aim at explaining the apparent equilibration of quantum systems, possibly after a very long time. However, these concepts are not concerned with the specific way in which this equilibrium is approached. Our point of departure is the (evident) observation that some forms of the approach to equilibrium, such as, e.g., exponential decay of observables, are much more common then others. We suggest to trace this dominance of certain decay dynamics back to a larger stability with respect to generic Hamiltonian perturbations. A…
Is a spontaneous perpetual reversal of the arrow of time possible? The out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) is a standard measure of irreversibility, quantum scrambling, and the arrow of time. The question may be thus formulated more precisely and conveniently: can spatially-ordered perpetual OTOC oscillations exist in many-body systems? Here we give a rigorous lower bound on the amplitude of OTOC oscillations in terms of a strictly local dynamical algebra allowing for identification of systems that are out-of-time-ordered (OTO) crystals. While OTOC oscillations are possible for few-body syst…
The adiabatic theorem of quantum mechanics states that the error between an instantaneous eigenstate of a time-dependent Hamiltonian and the state given by quantum evolution of duration $τ$ is upper bounded by $C/τ$ for some positive constant $C$. It has been known for decades that this error can be reduced to $C_{k}/τ^{k+1}$ if the Hamiltonian has vanishing derivatives up to order $k$ at the beginning and end of the evolution. Here we extend this result to open systems described by a time-dependent Liouvillian superoperator. We find that the same results holds provided the Liouvillian has van…
In this paper, we argue in favor of first-order homogeneous Lagrangians in the velocities. The relevant form of such Lagrangians is discussed and justified physically and geometrically. Such Lagrangian systems possess Reparametrization Invariance (RI) and explain the observed common Arrow of Time as related to the non-negative mass for physical particles. The extended Hamiltonian formulation, which is generally covariant and applicable to reparametrization-invariant systems, is emphasized. The connection between the explicit form of the extended Hamiltonian $\boldsymbol{H}$ and the meaning of …
Under unitary evolution, systems move gradually from state to state. An unstable atom has amplitude in its original state after many lifetimes ($τ_L$). But in the laboratory, transitions seem to go instantaneously, as suggested by the term "quantum jump." The problem studied here is whether the "jump" can be assigned a duration, in theory and in experiment. Two characteristic times are defined, jump time ($τ_J$) and passage time ($τ_P$). Both use Zeno time, $τ_Z$, defined in terms of $H$ and its initial state as $τ_Z \equiv \hbar/\sqrt{<ψ| (H-E_ψ)^2 |ψ>}$, with $E_ψ\equiv <ψ|H|ψ>$. $τ_J$ is de…
Error-resilient Reversal of Quantum Chaotic Dynamics Enabled by Scramblons
University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）；Tsinghua University（清华大学）；The Chinese University of Hong Kong（香港中文大学）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）
