Time’s Direction and Orthodox Quantum Mechanics: Time Symmetry and Measurement

Lopez, Cristian (2022) Time’s Direction and Orthodox Quantum Mechanics: Time Symmetry and Measurement.

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Official URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10838-0...

Abstract

It has been argued that measurement-induced collapses in Orthodox Quantum Mechanics generate an intrinsic (or built-in) quantum arrow of time. In this paper, I critically assess this proposal. I begin by distinguishing between an intrinsic and non-intrinsic arrow of time. After presenting the proposal of a collapse-based arrow of time in some detail, I argue, first, that any quantum arrow of time in Orthodox Quantum Mechanics is nonintrinsic since it depends on external information about the measurement context, and second, that it cannot be global, but just local. I complement these arguments by assessing some criticisms and considerations about the implementation of time reversal in contexts wherein measurement-induced collapses work. I conclude that the quantum arrow of time delivered by Orthodox Quantum Mechanics is much weaker than usually thought.

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