Skip to contentSkip to filters

We use cookies for analytics.

Topic: wavefunction collapse

Seminar
1 seminar

In Physics and Quantum Mechanics

Seminar · Theoretical Physics

Emergent time and more from wavefunction collapse in general relativity

Sung-Sik Lee · McMaster University

Thu, Sep 24, 2026 · 18:30 UTC

This talk is about the proposal that (1) quantum states that violate the momentum and Hamiltonian constraints represent instances of time, and (2) time evolution corresponds to the gradual collapse of an initial state toward a diffeomorphism-invariant state, driven by stochastic fluctuations of the lapse and shift. During the wavefunction collapse, the scale factor increases monotonically and thus acts as a clock. Scalar, vector, and tensor gravitons arise as physical excitations. In the long-time limit, the tensor gravitons exhibit emergent unitary dynamics, while the extra modes are damped b