Origin of the arrow of time in quantum mechanics

Abstract

We point out that time’s arrow is naturally induced by quantum mechanical evolution, whenever the systems have a very large number [Formula: see text] of nondegenerate states and a Hamiltonian bounded from below. When [Formula: see text] is finite, the arrow is imperfect, since evolution can resurrect past states. In the limit [Formula: see text] the arrow is fixed by the “tooth of time”: the decay of excited states induced by spontaneous emission to the ground state, mediated by interactions and a large number of decay products which carry energy and information to infinity. This applies to individual isolated atoms, and does not require a coupling to a separate large heath bath.