Fletcher, Samuel C. (2019) Which Worldlines Represent Possible Particle Histories? Foundations of Physics, 50 (6). pp. 582-599. ISSN 0015-9018
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Abstract
Based on three common interpretive commitments in general relativity, I raise a conceptual problem for the usual identification, in that theory, of timelike curves as those that represent the possible histories of (test) particles in spacetime. This problem affords at least three different solutions, depending on different representational and ontological assumptions one makes about the nature of (test) particles, fields, and their modal structure. While I advocate for a cautious pluralism regarding these options, I also suggest that re-interpreting (test) particles as field processes offers the most promising route for natural integration with the physics of material phenomena, including quantum theory.
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| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
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| Additional Information: | This is the postprint version: after final peer review but before copyediting. Final version published in 2020. | ||||||
| Keywords: | General relativity, Closed timelike curves, Particle ontology, Field ontology, Event ontology, Process ontology | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
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| Depositing User: | Prof. Samuel C. Fletcher | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 26 May 2020 22:27 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 26 May 2020 22:27 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 17223 | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Foundations of Physics | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | 10.1007/s10701-019-00260-4 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Fields and Particles Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory |
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| Date: | 5 April 2019 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 582-599 | ||||||
| Volume: | 50 | ||||||
| Number: | 6 | ||||||
| ISSN: | 0015-9018 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/17223 |
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