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Causal Structure as a Reference: A Minimal Reinterpretation of Entanglement within Relativistic Causality

Yasuo Tanaka

Published Dec 28, 2025• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This work presents a minimal reinterpretation of quantum entanglement based solely on the causal structure inherent in relativistic spacetime. No new physical entities, parameters, or modifications to existing theories are introduced.The discussion remains entirely within the established frameworks of general relativity and quantum mechanics, with particular emphasis on Lorentz invariance and relativistic causality. The central idea is that the causal structure of spacetime is unique and invariant, while spatial separation corresponds to different references (foliations) to this structure rather than its duplication.Within this viewpoint, quantum entanglement is understood as a local readout of correlations already encoded in a shared causal structure, without invoking nonlocal influences or superluminal information transfer. This document is intended as a conceptual clarification and archival record rather than a proposal of a new theory.It is provided to preserve a logically consistent interpretation that may be of interest for future foundational discussions.

DOI
10.5281/zenodo.18072628

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Abstract The conceptual unification of quantum mechanics and relativity remains one of the central challenges of modern theoretical physics. While quantum theory successfully describes microscopic phenomena through probabilistic wave dynamics and field quantization, relativity establishes the geometric structure of space-time and the causal organization of physical events. Despite extensive progress in quantum field theory and relativistic quantum frameworks, foundational tensions persist regarding locality, causality, and coherence. This study presents a conceptual and structural analysis of quantum field coherence within relativistic space-time. Rather than focusing on specific unification proposals, we examine the compatibility conditions between quantum coherence, relativistic causality, and space-time structure. Particular attention is given to field-based interpretations of quantum states, entanglement propagation limits, and covariance requirements. The analysis synthesizes perspectives from relativistic quantum field theory, conceptual foundations of quantum measurement, and geometric interpretations of space-time. We argue that coherence phenomena can be understood as structurally constrained by relativistic causal order, without requiring violation of space-time locality. The aim of this article is to clarify foundational relationships between quantum coherence and relativistic structure through a conceptual framework that integrates field-theoretic and geometric viewpoints.
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Recent works in foundations of quantum (field) theory and relativistic quantum information try to better grasp the interplay between the structure of quantum correlations and the constraints imposed by causality on physical operations. Chapter 1 is dedicated to the study of the conceptual implications of quantum nonlocality, a concept that subsumes that of entanglement in a certain way. We detail the recent information-theoretic approaches to understanding the structure of nonlocal correlations, and the issues the latter raise concerning the ability of local observers to isolate a system from its environment. Chapter 2 reviews in what sense imposing Poincare invariance affects entanglement detection and quantification procedures. This invariance ultimately forces a description of all quantum systems within the framework of quantum field theory, which leads to the impossibility of localized finite-energy states and to the divergence of all entanglement measures for local observers. We provide a solution to these two problems by showing that there exists a generic equivalence between a finite spatial resolution of the measurement apparatus and the exclusion of high-energy degrees of freedom from the definition of the observed system. This equivalence allows for an epistemic interpretation of the standard quantum formalism describing nonrelativistic localized systems and their correlations, hence a clarification of the origin of the finite measures of entanglement between such systems. Chapter 3 presents a recent theoretical framework that predicts the existence of correlations with indefinite causal order. In analogy to the information-theoretic approaches to nonlocal correlations, we introduce some principles that constrain the structure of such correlations, which is a first step toward a clear understanding of their physical origin.
All known physical systems are described by quantum fields, whose observable properties arise from measurable correlations among their states. In this interpretation, what we call information is not an abstract entity but the physical pattern formed by these correlations. Energy, momentum, and spacetime curvature are already known to be expressible through expectation values of quantum operators, and recent results in quantum information theory show that variations in entanglement correspond directly to variations in energy. From this perspective, macroscopic structures—including matter and spacetime geometry—can be understood as stable, evolving patterns within quantum fields. Apparent non-local correlations, such as quantum entanglement, do not transmit signals faster than light but reflect pre-existing informational structure consistent with relativistic causality. Gravitational effects traditionally attributed to unseen components may, in principle, also be described as consequences of information distribution within known fields, without invoking new particles or interactions. This interpretation does not modify established physical laws or introduce new constants. It remains fully compatible with quantum field theory and general relativity, and is intended as a conceptual framework for organizing existing results rather than a new predictive theory. Its empirical relevance lies in re-expressing known phenomena in terms of information patterns that are, in principle, measurable through correlations and entanglement.