arXiv:quant-ph/0508041quant-ph
Reversibility and Irreversibility within the Quantum Formalism
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Abstract
The discussion on time-reversal in quantum mechanics exists at least since Wigner's ``Uber die Operation der Zeitumkehr in der Quantenmechanik'' paper in 1932. If and how the dynamics of the quantum world is time-reversible has been the subject of many controversies. Some have seen quantum mechanics as fundamentally time-irreversible, see for example von Neumann, and some have seen in that the ultimate cause of time's arrow and second law behavior. In his best-selling book ``The Emperor's New Mind'', Roger Penrose argues similarly and concludes that ``our sought-for quantum gravity must be a time-asymmetric theory'' [p.351]. Not so long ago, we read yet about another project in Physicalia 26: to extend quantum mechanics into new fundamentally irreversible equations, thus proposing a new theory giving ``... une description fondamentale irreversible de tout systeme physique''.
Time-reversal is a confusing topic, both because it involves innately complex issues, and because scientists are not always consistent about the terminology they use. This article does a good job untying the Gordian knot: Jacobs, Tim, and Christian Maes. "Reversibility and…
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