Time-Symmetric Boundary Conditions and Quantum Foundations
Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Jos´e State University, San Jos´e, CA 95192-0106, USA
Symmetry 2010, 2(1), 272-283; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym2010272
Received: 1 January 2010
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Accepted: 4 March 2010
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Published: 8 March 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers: Symmetry Concepts and Applications)
Despite the widely-held premise that initial boundary conditions (BCs) corresponding to measurements/interactions can fully specify a physical subsystem, a literal reading of Hamilton’s principle would imply that both initial and final BCs are required (or more generally, a BC on a closed hypersurface in spacetime). Such a time-symmetric perspective of BCs, as applied to classical fields, leads to interesting parallels with quantum theory. This paper will map out some of the consequences of this counter-intuitive premise, as applied to covariant classical fields. The most notable result is the contextuality of fields constrained in this manner, naturally bypassing the usual arguments against so-called “realistic” interpretations of quantum phenomena.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Wharton, K. Time-Symmetric Boundary Conditions and Quantum Foundations. Symmetry 2010, 2, 272-283. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym2010272
AMA Style
Wharton K. Time-Symmetric Boundary Conditions and Quantum Foundations. Symmetry. 2010; 2(1):272-283. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym2010272
Chicago/Turabian StyleWharton, Ken. 2010. "Time-Symmetric Boundary Conditions and Quantum Foundations" Symmetry 2, no. 1: 272-283. https://doi.org/10.3390/sym2010272
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