Time from quantum state complexity and the pace of time flow

TL;DR

This paper proposes that the flow of time is linked to the evolution of quantum state complexity and demonstrates how this idea aligns with relativistic time dilation effects through simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel hypothesis connecting quantum complexity growth to the pace of time and extends the thermal time hypothesis within a relativistic framework.

Findings

Qualitative consistency with special and general relativity time dilation

Simulation results support the link between complexity change and time flow

Shows the idea as a natural extension of the thermal time hypothesis

Abstract

Based on the hypothesis that the thermodynamic arrow of time is an emergent phenomenon of quantum state complexity evolution, we further propose that the natural pace of time flow is proportional to the changing rate of quantum state complexity. we then testify how the pace of time flow changes under both special and general relativity based on the analogy between qubit quantum operations and Lorentz transformations. Our simulation results show a qualitative consistency between our hypothesis and the time dilation effect of relativity. We also checked the relationship between our idea on time with the thermal time hypothesis and we showed that our idea can be regarded as a natural generalization of the thermal time hypothesis.