The Physical Basis of The Direction of Time

H. Dieter Zeh

ISBN 10: 3540680004 / ISBN 13: 9783540680000

Edité par Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Springer Berlin Heidelberg Apr 2007, 2007

A propos de cet article

Neuware -Four previous editions of this book were published in 1989, 1992, 1999, and 2001. They were preceded by a German version (Zeh 1984) that was based on lectures I had given at the University of Heidelberg. My interest in this subject arose originally from the endeavor to better - derstand all aspects of irreversibility that might be relevant for the statistical natureandinterpretationofquantumtheory. Thequantummeasurementp- cess is often claimed to represent an ¿ampli cation¿ of microscopic properties to the macroscopic scale in close analogy to the origin of classical uctuations, whichmayleadtothelocalonsetofaphasetransition,forexample. Thisclaim can hardly be upheld under the assumption of universal unitary dynamics, as is well known from the example of Schr¿ odinger¿s cat. However, the classical theoryofstatisticalmechanicso ersmanyproblemsandmisinterpretationsof its own, which are in turn related to the oft-debated retardation of radiation, irreversible black holes with their thermodynamical aspects, and ¿ last but not least ¿ the expansion of the Universe. So the subject o ered a great and exciting ¿interdisciplinary¿ challenge. My interest was also stimulated by Paul Davies¿ (1977) book that I used successfully for my early lectures. Quantum gravity, that for consistency has to be taken into account in cosmology, even requires a complete revision of the concept of time, which leads to entirely novel and fundamental questions of interpretation (Sect. 6. 2). Many of these interesting elds and applications have seen considerable progress since the last edition came out.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 244 pp. Englisch.

N° de réf. du vendeur 9783540680000

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Physical Basis of The Direction of Time
• Éditeur: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Springer Berlin Heidelberg Apr 2007
• Date de parution: 2007
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 3540680004
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9783540680000
• Reliure: Buch
• Édition: 5ème Édition
• État de l'article: Neu
• Dimensions: 241 L x 160 H x 19 P (en millimètres) 241 millimètres de largeur par 160 millimètres de hauteur par 19 millimètres de profondeur
• Poids: 535 grammes

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Synopsis

This thoroughly revised fifth edition of Zeh's classic text on irreversibility includes new sections on cosmic probabilities, quantum computers, and the expansion of the Universe. The book investigates irreversible phenomena in classical, quantum and cosmological settings. In particular, it contains a detailed treatment of radiation damping as well as extended sections on dynamical maps, quantum entanglement and decoherence, arrows of time hidden in various interpretations of quantum theory, and the emergence of time in quantum gravity. Both physicists and philosophers of science who reviewed earlier editions praised this book as a magnificent survey, a concise, technically sophisticated, up-to-date discussion of the subject, showing fine sensitivity to crucial conceptual subtleties.

À propos de l?auteur

H. Dieter Zeh studied physics in Brunswick and Heidelberg, where he began work on theoretical nuclear physics. After a year of research at the California Institute of Technology, he moved to the University of California in San Diego to work on the synthesis of the heavy elements, before returning to the University of Heidelberg, where he later became professor of theoretical physics. His studies of collective motion in nuclei led him to address the quantum-to-classical transition in general, and in particular the quantum measurement problem, which is in turn related to many aspects of irreversibility (arrows of time). During this work, Zeh recognized and formulated the universal and unavoidable role of uncontrollable quantum entanglement, thus becoming a founder of the area now known as decoherence.