A Coarse Graining Approach to the Emergence of Time and Entropy

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Auteur principal: Gurevich, Jacob
Format: Recurso digital
Langue:anglais
Publié: Zenodo 2025
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author Gurevich, Jacob
author_facet Gurevich, Jacob
contents <p>A central paradox in modern physics is the tension between the time-reversible nature of fundamental laws and the irreversible behavior observed in macroscopic phenomena. This paper advances the hypothesis that entropy itself is not fundamental but emergent, arising from the observer’s coarse-graining of microstates, and that the arrow of time is a direct consequence of this process. Drawing on concepts from loop quantum gravity, I argue that spacetime at the Planck scale is discrete, composed of finite quanta, and therefore admits no conventional evolution of entropy: the macrostate is identical to the microstate, yielding no change in entropy. Unlike earlier proposals such as the Thermal Time Hypothesis, which assume a pre-given statistical state, the present framework makes entropy itself relational and observer-dependent. In this picture, time flow is not absolute but emerges only through coarse-grained interactions, dependent on the scale and resolution of the observer. This approach extends principles of relational quantum mechanics into a thermodynamic setting and anchors them in the discrete structures of spin networks and spin foams. I also discuss implications for black hole information, cosmological models such as the Big Bounce, and the holographic principle. While conceptual and lacking a full mathematical derivation, this hypothesis offers a distinct path toward unifying quantum mechanics and quantum gravity through the observer.</p>
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institution Zenodo
language eng
publishDate 2025
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle A Coarse Graining Approach to the Emergence of Time and Entropy
Gurevich, Jacob
Loop Quantum Gravity
Time
Entropy
<p>A central paradox in modern physics is the tension between the time-reversible nature of fundamental laws and the irreversible behavior observed in macroscopic phenomena. This paper advances the hypothesis that entropy itself is not fundamental but emergent, arising from the observer’s coarse-graining of microstates, and that the arrow of time is a direct consequence of this process. Drawing on concepts from loop quantum gravity, I argue that spacetime at the Planck scale is discrete, composed of finite quanta, and therefore admits no conventional evolution of entropy: the macrostate is identical to the microstate, yielding no change in entropy. Unlike earlier proposals such as the Thermal Time Hypothesis, which assume a pre-given statistical state, the present framework makes entropy itself relational and observer-dependent. In this picture, time flow is not absolute but emerges only through coarse-grained interactions, dependent on the scale and resolution of the observer. This approach extends principles of relational quantum mechanics into a thermodynamic setting and anchors them in the discrete structures of spin networks and spin foams. I also discuss implications for black hole information, cosmological models such as the Big Bounce, and the holographic principle. While conceptual and lacking a full mathematical derivation, this hypothesis offers a distinct path toward unifying quantum mechanics and quantum gravity through the observer.</p>
title A Coarse Graining Approach to the Emergence of Time and Entropy
topic Loop Quantum Gravity
Time
Entropy
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17382628