Chaos and the reversibility of time in Newton’s theory of Gravity
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Simon Portegies Zwart
(
- Leiden University
Abstract
The fundamental laws of physics are time-symmetric, but our macroscopic experience contradicts this. The time reversibility paradox is partly a consequence of the unpredictability of Newton’s equations of motion. We measure the dependence of the fraction of irreversible, gravitational N-body systems on numerical precision and find that it scales as a power law. The stochastic wave packet reduction postulate then introduces fundamental uncertainties in the Cartesian phase space coordinates that propagate through classical three-body dynamics to macroscopic scales within the triple’s lifetime. The spontaneous collapse of the wave function then drives the global chaotic behaviour of the Universe through the superposition of triple systems (and probably multi-body systems). The paradox of infinitesimal granularity arises from the superposition principle, which states that any multi-body system is composed of an ensemble of three-body problems.
Chaos and the reversibility of time in Newton’s theory of Gravity
Venue
School of Physics and Astronomy
James Clerk Maxwell Building, 4305
Peter Guthrie Tait Road
Edinburgh
EH9 3FD
UK
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