Quantum Theory and Gravitational Relativity

Ernst Schmützer

Ratan Dasgupta

Relativity of simultaneity is shown to limit the accuracy in simultaneous measurement of position and momentum of a moving body by an inertial observer. The inaccuracy or uncertainty product derived from special relativity theory is found to be similar to the much known quantum mechanical uncertainty relation. However, whether the above two uncertainty relations indicate the same physics is debatable and any conclusion is not attempted here. A modification of this relativistic uncertainty formula under gravitational field is achieved using general relativity principles, and a small gravitational correction term has to be introduced. This gravitational term being small remains negligible in ordinary conditions but becomes appreciable at small time scale.

Dharam Vir Ahluwalia

The agreement between the predictions of general relativity and observations of the energy loss due to gravitational waves emitted by binary pulsars is just as impressive as the agreement between prediction of quantum electrodynamics and the measured value of Lamb shift in atoms. However, general relativity has not yet yielded to a successful quantised theory. There is a widespread belief that the two thories are incompatible at some deep level. The question is: where? Here, I show that the conceptual foundations of the theory of general relativity and quantum mechanics are so rich that they suggest concrete modifications into each other in the interface region. Specifically, I consider quantum states that have no classical counterpart and show that such states must carry an inherent violation of the principle of equivalence. On the other hand, I show that when gravitational effects are incorporated into the quantum measurement process one must induce a gravitationally induced modification to the de Broglie's wave-particle duality. The reported changes into the foundations of the two theories are far from in-principle modifications. These are endowed with serious implications for the understanding of the early universe and, in certain instances, can be explored in terrestrial laboratories.

J. David Jackson

Léon Brillouin

CESAR ARELLANES

Despite their empirical success, the conceptual foundations of time and gravitation remain unsettled. In general relativity, time is treated as a geometric dimension, and gravitation as spacetime curvature sourced by stress-energy, whereas in quantum theory, time appears as an external parameter, and measurement introduces irreversibility without a unified interpretational basis. This paper proposes an interpretational framework in which both time and gravitation are understood as consequences of retained asymmetry produced by irreversible measurement events. Time is interpreted as the ordering induced by retained measurement records, while gravitation is interpreted as the constraint imposed by their density. This framework introduces no new entities or mathematical structures and remains consistent with established results in general relativity and quantum mechanics.Keywords: foundations of physics, measurement theory, foundations of spacetime, time, gravitation, interpretation