The Vanishing of Time
A compact appendix insert arguing that time, in several leading physical frameworks, is not fundamental but emergent from correlations, entropy, and information — and that subjectively felt continuity (Bergson’s durée) can be read as the universe’s way of “remembering change.”
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Claim
Time vanishes at the fundamental level in canonical quantum gravity and reappears as a relational and thermodynamic parameter — an index of changing correlations. The felt “flow” corresponds to memory: the system’s retention of ordered differences. If time is emergent from correlations, then memory is not in time; time is in memory.
Three Lines of Argument
- Canonical Quantum Gravity: In the Wheeler–DeWitt framework the universal wavefunction satisfies
HΨ=0— no external time parameter. This is the “problem of time.” - Relational & Thermal Time: In relational quantum mechanics, states are only defined relative to other systems; Connes–Rovelli’s thermal time hypothesis derives a time flow from a system’s statistical state (Tomita–Takesaki theory).
- Emergent Spacetime: In holographic/entropic approaches, spacetime (and with it, time) emerges from underlying quantum information; gravity appears as an entropic or dual description.
Diagram (describe)
From Timeless Core to Emergent Flow: Center: “Constraint surface HΨ=0” → arrows to three rims: (A) Relational correlations (RQM) → local clocks; (B) Statistical state (Thermal Time) → modular flow; (C) Entanglement structure (AdS–CFT / entropic gravity) → macroscopic spacetime. Outer ring: “Arrow of time = entropy gradient (boundary conditions).”
Citations
| Topic | Source | URL |
|---|---|---|
| Problem of time in quantum gravity | Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Quantum Gravity | plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-gravity/ |
| Relational Quantum Mechanics | Rovelli (1996), Int. J. Theor. Phys. & arXiv | arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9609002 |
| Thermal Time Hypothesis | Connes & Rovelli (1994), Class. Quantum Grav. & arXiv | arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9406019 |
| Entropic gravity | Verlinde (2011), JHEP & arXiv | arxiv.org/abs/1001.0785 |
| Holography (AdS–CFT) | Maldacena (1997/1999) & arXiv | arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9711200 |
References
- Weinstein, S., & Rickles, D. (2005/2006). Quantum Gravity. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-gravity/
- Rovelli, C. (1996). Relational Quantum Mechanics. International Journal of Theoretical Physics, 35(8), 1637–1678. https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9609002
- Connes, A., & Rovelli, C. (1994). Von Neumann Algebra Automorphisms and Time–Thermodynamics Relation in General Covariant Quantum Theories. Classical and Quantum Gravity, 11, 2899–2918. https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9406019
- Verlinde, E. (2011). On the Origin of Gravity and the Laws of Newton. Journal of High Energy Physics, 2011(4), 29. https://arxiv.org/abs/1001.0785
- Maldacena, J. (1999). The Large N Limit of Superconformal Field Theories and Supergravity. Advances in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics, 2, 231–252. https://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9711200