Between Quantum and Cosmos

Studies and Essays in Honor of John Archibald Wheeler

Alwyn Van der Merwe, Wojciech Hubert Zurek, Warner Allen Miller, Alwyn Van der Merwe, Wojciech Hubert Zurek, Warner Allen Miller, Alwyn Van der Merwe, Wojciech Zurek, Warner Miller

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780691605548, 9780691629957
• eBook ISBN: 9781400886975
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Quantum Theory

The forty papers collected here honor one of the great scientists of our time--John Archibald Wheeler. In this volume are gathered the six issues of the journal Foundations of Physics (February through July 1986) that celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday. Enlivened by Professor Wheeler's celebrated drawings, the book captures and illuminates his many contributions to physics, including his discovery of the scattering matrix and his elucidation, with Niels Bohr, of the mechanism of nuclear fission, his many contributions to Einstein's theory of gravity (for instance, the black hole), his deep insights into quantum theory and measurement (the elementary quantum phenomenon), and his efforts to explain the origins of the quantum postulate and quantum gravity (the meaning circuit and the Wheeler-DeWitt Equation). The majority of the papers reflect and build on Professor Wheeler's revolutionary ideas. Many scientists are convinced that his insights into the foundation of modern-day physics will induce a profound change in our perception of the universe. This book will appeal to scientists and philosophers who wish to look at one man's rendering of the "big picture" through the eyes of his colleagues. The work is prefaced by a compilation of quotes from Professor Wheeler, edited by Kip S. Thorne and Wojciech Zurek. The contributors to Between Quantum and Cosmos are M. Alexander, A. Anderson, H. H. Barschall, J. D. Bekenstein, C. H. Bennett, P. G. Bergmann, V. B. Braginsky, D. R. Brill, L. Brown, I. Ciufolini, L. Cohen, M. Demianski, D. Deutsch, B. DeWitt, C. DeWitt-Morette, R. H. Dicke, B. d'Espagnat, R. P. Feynman, J. Geheniau, U. H. Gerlach, R. Geroch, J. Glimm, J. B. Hartle, F. W. Hehl, M. Henneaux, P. A. Hogan, S. Hojman, J. Isenberg, F. Ya. Khalili, A. Kheyfets, K. V. Kuchar, R. Landauer, S. G. Low, V. N. Lukash, B. Mashhoon, R. A. Matzner, J. D. McCrea, A. Mezzacappa, W. A. Miller, Y. Ne'eman, I. D. Novikov, A. Peres, I. Prigogine, I. Robinson, L. S. Schulman, M. O. Scully, D. H. Sharp, L. C. Shepley, A. Y. Shiekh, C. Teitelboim, E. Teller, K. S. Thorne, W. G. Unruh, R. M. Wald, L. Wilets, W. K. Wootters, J. W. York, Jr., and W. H. Zurek.

Originally published in 1988.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Preface
• 1. John Archibald Wheeler: A Few Highlights of His Contributions to Physics by Kip S. Thorne and Wojciech H. Zurek
• 2. Early Estimates of the Strength of the Nuclear Spin-Orbit Force by H. H. Barsehall and Louis Brown
• 3. Momentum Projection of Solitons Including Quantum Corrections by Lawrence Wilets
• 4. An S Matrix Theory for Classical Nonlinear Physics by J. Glimm and D. H. Sharp
• 5. Some Generalizations of the Virial Theorem by Edward Teller
• 6. Does the Topology of Space Fluctuate? by Arlen Anderson and Bryce Dewitt
• 7. Barrier Penetration and Initial Values in Kaluza–Klein Theories by Dieter R. Brill
• 8. Obvious, Incredible . . .by V. N. Lukash and I. D. Novikov
• 9. Professor Wheeler and the Crack of Doom: Closed Cosmologies in the 5-D Kaluza-Klein Theory by Richard A. Matzner and Anthony Mezzacappa
• 10. Gravitation and Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking by Jacob D. Bekenstein
• 11. The Birth of Time by J. Geheniau and I. Prigogine
• 12. Black Holes and Quantum Coherence by Robert M. Wald
• 13. Heuristic Viewpoint Concerning the Thermal Ambience Relative to an Accelerated Frame by Ulrich H. Gerlach
• 14. Test of the Gravitomagnetic Field via Laser–Ranged Satellites by Ignazio Ciufolini
• 15. Static Electromagnetic Geon by Marek Demianski
• 16. The Geometrodynamic Content of the Regge Equations as Illuminated by the Boundary of a Boundary Principle by Warner Allen Miller
• 17. Canonical Geometrodynamics and General Covariance by Karel V. Kuchar
• 18. Boundary Terms in the Action Principles of General Relativity by James W. York, Jr.
• 19. Bianchi Identities and the Automatic Conservation of Energy–Momentum and Angular Momentum in General–Relativistic Field Theories by Friedrich W. Hehl and J. Dermott McCrea
• 20. The Boundary of a Boundary Principle: A Unified Approach by Arkady Kheyfets
• 21. The Gravitational Field at Spatial Infinity by Matthew Alexander and Peter G. Bergmann
• 22. Gravitational Radiation Reaction on the Motion of Particles in General Relativity by P. A. Hogan and I. Robinson
• 23. Equivalent Lagrangians in Classical Field Theory by Sergio Hojman and L. C. Shepley
• 24. P-Form Electrodynamics by Marc Henneaux and Claudio Teitelboim
• 25. General Covariance and Quantum Theory by Bahram Mashhoon
• 26. Steering the Universe by James Lsenberg
• 27. On Observing the Absence of an Atom by R. H. Dicke
• 28. How to Evade the Confrontation with the Uncertainty Relations by V. B. Braginsky and F. Ya. Khalili
• 29. Are the Quantum Rules Exact? The Case of the Imperfect Measurements by Bernard D'espagnat
• 30. The Problems in Quantum Foundations in the Light of Gauge Theories by Yuval Ne'eman
• 31. Joint Wigner Distribution for Spin–1/2 Particles by Leon Cohen and Marian O. Scully
• 32. Wedges I by Cecile Dewitt–Morette, Stephen G. Low, Lawrence S. Schulman, and Anwar Y. Shiekh
• 33. The Measurement of Quantum Noise Reduction in Squeezed States by W. G. Unruh
• 34. Quantum Mechanics Without Probability Amplitudes by William K. Wootters
• 35. Quantum Mechanical Computers by Richard P. Feynman
• 36. Computability and Physical Theories by Robert Geroch and James B. Hartle
• 37. Computation and Physics: Wheeler's Meaning Circuit? by Rolf Landauer
• 38. On Wheeler's Notion of "law Without Law" in Physics by David Deutsch
• 39. Existence of "Free Will" as a Problem of Physics by Asher Peres
• 40. On the Nature and Origin of Complexity in Discrete, Homogeneous, Locally–Interacting Systems by Charles H. Bennett
• Descriptions of Plates