Equation 50 · The Clock That Comes Back Wrong by Exactly Its Mass
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Symbol T
T is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
Symbol b
b is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
Symbol G
G is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
Symbol v
v is a part of this expression. Its role is fixed by the surrounding article and by the operations shown in the formula.
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What the article says around this equation
Nothing about this phase disturbs conservation of energy or momentum, and it is worth saying explicitly why. [] does not come from a new term added to any Hamiltonian; it comes from how already-unitary translation and boost operators compose. Each operator in the product T()G()T(-)G(-) conserves probability on its own, and the product of unitaries is unitary regardless of whether the factors commute, so the loop as a whole still conserves probability and leaves every expectation value of energy and momentum exactly where an ordinary, non-extended calculation would put it. What changes is not a conserved quantity but the bookkeeping of…
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Nothing about this phase disturbs conservation of energy or momentum, and it is worth saying explicitly why. [] does not come from a new term added to any Hamiltonian; it comes from how already-unitary translation and boost operators compose. Each operator in the product T()G()T(-)G(-) conserves probability on its own, and the product of unitaries is unitary regardless of whether the factors commute, so the loop as a whole still conserves probability and leaves every expectation value of energy and momentum exactly where an ordinary, non-extended calculation would put it. What changes is not a conserved quantity but the bookkeeping of relative phase between branches that took different routes through the group — the same sense in which an Aharonov–Bohm loop conserves energy and momentum throughout while still leaving an interferometer with a phase shift at the end.
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