Timelessness strictly inside the Quantum Realm

TL;DR

The paper argues that within small isolated quantum systems, time does not pass as in classical physics, which impacts the interpretation of quantum reality and its connection to the classical world.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of timelessness inside quantum systems and links it to the classical world through entropy and the Landauer Principle, offering a new perspective on quantum interpretation.

Findings

Quantum systems exhibit timelessness, lacking classical passage of time.

Preparation and measurement leave entropy traces, indicating irreversibility.

Timelessness provides a bridge for more realistic quantum interpretations.

Abstract

Time is one of the undisputed foundations of our life in the real world. Here it is argued that inside small isolated quantum systems, time does not pass as we are used to, and it is primarily in this sense that quantum objects enjoy only limited reality. Quantum systems, which we know, are embedded in the everyday classical world. Their preparation as well as their measurement-phases leave durable records and traces in the entropy of the environment. The Landauer Principle then gives a quantitative threshold for irreversibility. With double slit experiments and tunneling as paradigmatic examples, it is proposed that a label of timelessness offers clues for rendering a Copenhagen type interpretation of quantum physics more realistic and acceptable by providing a coarse but viable link from the fundamental quantum realm to the classical world which humans directly experience.