%0 Journal Article
%T Time-Symmetric Boundary Conditions and Quantum Foundations
%A Ken Wharton
%J Symmetry
%D 2010
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/sym2010272
%X Despite the widely-held premise that initial boundary conditions (BCs) corresponding to measurements/interactions can fully specify a physical subsystem, a literal reading of Hamilton¡¯s principle would imply that both initial and final BCs are required (or more generally, a BC on a closed hypersurface in spacetime). Such a time-symmetric perspective of BCs, as applied to classical fields, leads to interesting parallels with quantum theory. This paper will map out some of the consequences of this counter-intuitive premise, as applied to covariant classical fields. The most notable result is the contextuality of fields constrained in this manner, naturally bypassing the usual arguments against so-called ¡°realistic¡± interpretations of quantum phenomena.
%K time symmetry
%K Hamilton¡¯s principle
%K classical field theory
%K quantum foundations
%U http://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/2/1/272