Description
Title: Physics, Experience, Life. III. Arrow of time
Author: Ding Jia
Abstract: Why do we experience temporally oriented phenomena, when the dynamical laws lack an intrinsic time direction? Must this be due to special boundary conditions of the universe? In this paper, I point out flaws in arguments along this line by Hartle, Wallace, as well as Goldstein et al., and propose a new explanation centering instead on the dynamics of living systems. As a living system progresses through its life, the transition probabilities among its physical configurations are characterized by the laws of quantum theory. Since different environmental perturbations may induce identical transitions, this quantum dynamics establishes a coarse-graining of microstates. Quantum cellular automaton model computations indicate that transitions linked to higher coarse-grained entropy are more probable, even under generic boundary conditions. In particular, instances are found where temporally oriented phenomena prevail when the past boundary has high entropy, and when the past and future boundary conditions are identical. These results speak against the past-hypothesis in explaining time’s arrow. In the paradigm they support, the origin of time asymmetry lies in the interior of the universe, not on its boundary.
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- Original versions: Article v1.0
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