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arXiv:1511.09197

Emergence of Spacetime in Quantum Shape Dynamics

Furkan Semih Dündar, Baris Tamer Tonguc

Published Nov 30, 2015• 0 citations
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Abstract

We study kinematics of atoms and molecules in quantum shape dynamics. We analyzed a model universe where there is only electrical force between protons and electrons. In ref. \cite{sd-prl} a similar model where there is only gravitational attraction between masses is investigated. Our results is an expansion of the ideas there. We found that hydrogen atoms can form when they are entangled in singlet pairs. On the other hand if there is single hydrogen atom in the universe, it occupies the entire universe. What is more, in the investigation of hydrogen molecule, we found that absolute spacetime emerges by coarse graining the quantum degrees of freedom. It may be that spacetime only exists because of the presence of quantum degrees of freedom. This is especially important from the quantum gravity perspective.

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We study kinematics of atoms and molecules in quantum shape dynamics. We analyzed a model universe where there is only electrical force between protons and electrons. In ref. \cite{sd-prl} a similar model where there is only gravitational attraction between masses is investigated. Our results is an expansion of the ideas there. We found that hydrogen atoms can form when they are entangled in singlet pairs. On the other hand if there is single hydrogen atom in the universe, it occupies the entire universe. What is more, in the investigation of hydrogen molecule, we found that absolute spacetime emerges by coarse graining the quantum degrees of freedom. It may be that spacetime only exists because of the presence of quantum degrees of freedom. This is especially important from the quantum gravity perspective.
We start from classical general relativity coupled to matter fields. Each configuration variable and its conjugate momentum, as also spacetime points are raised to the status of matrices [equivalently operators]. These matrices obey a deterministic Lagrangian dynamics at the Planck scale. By coarse-graining this matrix dynamics over time intervals much larger than Planck time, one derives quantum theory as a low energy emergent approximation. If a sufficiently large number of degrees of freedom get entangled, spontaneous localisation takes place, leading to the emergence of classical spacetime geometry and a classical universe. In our theory, dark energy is shown to be a large-scale quantum gravitational phenomenon. Quantum indeterminism is not fundamental, but results from our not probing physics at the Planck scale.
The canonical answer to the question posed is "Yes." – tacitly assuming that quantum theory and the concept of spacetime are to be unified by 'quantizing' a theory of gravitation. Yet, instead, one may ponder: Could quantum mechanics arise as a coarse-grained reflection of the atomistic nature of spacetime? – We speculate that this may indeed be the case. We recall the similarity between evolution of classical and quantum mechanical ensembles, according to Liouville and von Neumann equation, respectively. The classical and quantum mechanical equations are indistinguishable for objects which are free or subject to spatially constant but possibly time dependent, or harmonic forces, if represented appropriately. This result suggests a way to incorporate anharmonic interactions, including fluctuations which are tentatively related to the underlying discreteness of spacetime. Being linear and local at the quantum mechanical level, the model offers a decoherence and natural localization mechanism. However, the relation to primordial deterministic degrees of freedom is nonlocal.
Shape dynamics is a theory first proposed by Julian Barbour which states that physics happen uniquely in the reduced configuration space of a theory. So far, studies in the area have focused on gravitational systems. Here we first contemplate on the implications of this idea on quantum mechanics. We summarize the idea of shape dynamics and then give physical configurations of multi qubit systems. It is observed that inclusion of the spacetime curvature introduces a new qubit degree of freedom. This is a novel effect of general relativity on a quantum system. Our aim in the grand picture, is to initiate a research program translating classical shape dynamics to quantum realm.
This paper explores the fundamental nature of spacetime from the perspective of emergent causal structures, rooted in quantum mechanical principles. We propose a theoretical framework that treats spacetime not as a pre-existing background, but as a collective phenomenon arising from the interaction of quantum causal relations. By analyzing the constraints of causality and quantum coherence, we derive key implications for the emergence of classical spacetime geometry and the limits of local realism. Our results suggest a new way to bridge quantum mechanics and gravitational theory, providing a foundation for future studies in quantum gravity and spacetime physics.
We develop a complete geometric framework in which each quantum particle possesses its own private spacetime—a world-block—constructed from Fermi–Walker coordinates. The intrinsic spatial metric on each proper-time slice is a dynamical field governed by an action with a universal stiffness constant A0. A single world-block exhibits kinematic non-locality: the metric perturbation at a point depends on the entire wavefunction through an integral relation, while maintaining dynamic locality via causal wave equations. This duality captures the essential non-locality of quantum mechanics without violating relativistic causality. When two particles interact, their world-blocks are stitched along a common boundary, forming a single compound world-block in ordinary four-dimensional spacetime. The stitching imposes local matching conditions that yield a non-separable strain field, providing a geometric account of quantum entanglement. Measurements correspond to fixing boundary conditions on one part of the compound block; the correlated outcome on the distant part is automatically determined by the shared global geometry, not by any superluminal signal. Thus, the apparent non-locality of EPR correlations is explained as a manifestation of geometric connectivity within a single 4D manifold, consistent with Bell’s theorem because the geometry itself is non-local. In the continuum limit of many overlapping blocks, coarse-graining restores an effective local description, and Newton’s law of universal gravitation emerges exactly, with Newton’s constant given by G = 3c4/(8πA0). The model offers a unified, deterministic, and fully relativistic foundation for quantum mechanics and gravity, without invoking extra dimensions or stochastic elements. Experimental signatures in ultrafast interferometry and possible connections to dark energy are discussed. The framework aligns with recent developments in emergent gravity and provides a concrete geometric realization of spacetime from quantum entanglement.
An explicit dynamical model for non relativistic quantum mechanics with an effective gravitational interaction is proposed, which, as being well defined, allows in principle for the evaluation of every physical quantity. Its non unitary dynamics results from a unitary one in a space with twice as many degrees of freedom as the ordinary ones. It exhibits a threshold for the emergence of classical behavior for bodies of ordinary density on rather long times or instantaneously, respectively at around 10^11 or 10^20 proton masses.