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Temporal Non-locality

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Abstract

In this article I investigate several possibilities to define the concept of “temporal non-locality” within the standard framework of quantum theory. In particular, I analyze the notions of “temporally non-local states”, “temporally non-local events” and “temporally non-local observables”. The idea of temporally non-local events is already inherent in the standard formalism of quantum mechanics, and Basil Hiley recently defined an operator in order to measure the degree of such a temporal non-locality. The concept of temporally non-local states enters as soon as “clock-representing states” are introduced in the context of special and general relativity. It is discussed in which way temporally non-local measurements may find an interesting application for experiments which test temporal versions of Bell inequalities.

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  1. Extending the mathematical framework of quantum theory or giving up fundamental requirements about the nature of observables let to many attempts to formulate time operators, see e.g. [10, 11, 24, 38, 44] and references therein. In this article I will not follow these technical approaches but rather take up a more conceptual viewpoint.

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  1. Institute of Physics, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

    Thomas Filk

  2. Parmenides Center for the Study of Thinking, Munich, Germany

    Thomas Filk

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Filk, T. Temporal Non-locality. Found Phys 43, 533–547 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-012-9671-7

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