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Is Classical Reality Completely Deterministic?

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Abstract

We interpret the concept of determinism for a classical system as the requirement that the solution to the Cauchy problem for the equations of motion governing this system be unique. This requirement is generally believed to hold for all autonomous classical systems. Our analysis of classical electrodynamics in a world with one temporal and one spatial dimension provides counterexamples of this belief. Given the initial conditions of a particular type, the Cauchy problem may have an infinite set of solutions. Therefore, random behavior of closed classical systems is indeed possible. With this finding, we give a qualitative explanation of how classical strings can split. We propose a modified path integral formulation of classical mechanics to include indeterministic systems.

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  1. Russian Federal Nuclear Center, Sarov, 607190, Nizhnii Novgorod Region, Russia

    B. P. Kosyakov

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  1. B. P. Kosyakov
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Correspondence to B. P. Kosyakov.

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Kosyakov, B.P. Is Classical Reality Completely Deterministic?. Found Phys 38, 76–88 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-007-9185-x

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