Collapse direction from quantum discord: pointer-basis feedback and no-signalling in DOKU
Fredrik Westergård
We present DOKU (Discrete Ontological Quantum Updating), a framework in which the direction of wavefunction collapse is determined by a physical principle: maximisation of environmental redundancy. While existing collapse models (GRW, CSL, Penrose-Diósi) address the timing of collapse, none addresses which outcome is selected beyond the Born-rule probability. DOKU proposes that this question has a physical answer rooted in quantum Darwinism: outcomes that leave more redundant environmental records are systematically favoured. The framework unifies the Penrose-Diósi gravitational timescale, quantum Darwinism, and quantum discord as the information measure, embedded in causal set discrete spacetime. Five innovations over prior models: (1) collapse direction is predicted from first principles; (2) quantum discord D(ρ) — basis-independent and locally unitarily invariant — replaces ad hoc measures; (3) no-signalling is proved via the trace-linearity argument; (4) a full GKSL Lindblad form is derived with discord-weighted jump rates; (5) a closed numerical prediction Δp₀ ≈ −5α × 10⁻³² is given for a specific two-qubit protocol. Three falsifiable predictions distinguish DOKU from existing models, including a CMB non-Gaussianity signature and discord-selective decoherence asymmetry. The framework additionally provides a derivation of emergent classicality: macroscopic objects have definite positions because photon environments redundantly encode position above all other bases. Open problems are stated explicitly.
•May 25, 2026•0 citations