The conceptual tension between nonlocality and relativistic causality motivates scenarios in which Lorentz invariance emerges as an effective low-energy symmetry rather than a fundamental property. We present a phenomenological framework inspired by Bohmian dynamics and analogue gravity, where collective excitations of a superfluid-like medium exhibit emergent Lorentzian propagation with an effective light speed. Beyond conventional dispersion tests, we predict a novel low-energy signature: contextual sensitivity of propagation to quantum coherence in nearby control systems, inducing small fluctuations of the effective light cone. We propose a feasible Mach–Zehnder interferometric protocol to probe these effects via precision differential measurements, opening a new experimental route to explore spacetime symmetries.
The conceptual tension between nonlocality and relativistic causality motivates scenarios in which Lorentz invariance emerges as an effective low-energy symmetry rather than a fundamental property. We present a phenomenological framework inspired by Bohmian dynamics and analogue gravity, where collective excitations of a superfluid-like medium exhibit emergent Lorentzian propagation with an effective light speed. Beyond conventional dispersion tests, we predict a novel low-energy signature: contextual sensitivity of propagation to quantum coherence in nearby control systems, inducing small fluctuations of the effective light cone. We propose a feasible Mach–Zehnder interferometric protocol to probe these effects via precision differential measurements, opening a new experimental route to explore spacetime symmetries.
Abstract The conceptual tension between quantum nonlocality and relativistic causality motivates scenarios in which Lorentz invariance is an emergent rather than fundamental symmetry. Within such scenarios, optical propagation may retain a weak dependence on properties of an underlying quantum substrate, including the coherence of nearby quantum systems. We introduce a phenomenological model in which optical propagation depends weakly on the quantum coherence of a nearby ancillary control system. To test this hypothesis, we propose a quantum-controlled Mach–Zehnder interferometric (MZI) protocol comparing coherent and incoherent ancillary states having identical populations. Standard quantum mechanics predicts identical photon-counting statistics in both configurations, whereas the proposed phenomenological model predicts additional stochastic phase fluctuations leading to an excess phase-noise variance in the coherent-control configuration. We derive the corresponding statistical sensitivity, discuss possible implementations based on state-of-the-art fiber MZIs, and estimate illustrative experimental bounds on the coherence–propagation coupling parameter.
AbstractLoophole-free Bell experiments have conclusively demonstrated that non-local correlations are a fundamental property of physical reality. Within the Minkowskian framework of Special Relativity (SRT), the relativity of simultaneity renders the temporal ordering of spacelike-separated events inherently frame-dependent. This creates a conceptual inconsistency for any ontologically realist interpretation of quantum mechanics: if measurement outcomes correspond to objective physical events, then the absence of a preferred foliation leads unavoidably to contradictory causal histories or retrocausal influences. In this work, we formulate a Conditional No-Go Theorem showing that Ontological Realism, Linear Causality, and Fundamental Lorentz Invariance cannot all hold simultaneously. Preserving a coherent causal structure therefore requires relinquishing Lorentz invariance as a primitive spacetime symmetry. We propose Absolute Simultaneity Theory (AST), a framework in which Lorentz covariance emerges thermodynamically from a quantum vacuum treated as a structured medium in equilibrium. Drawing on analogies with condensed-matter systems—particularly Volovik’s superfluid vacuum paradigm—we show that a preferred rest frame, plausibly identified with the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) frame, is fully compatible with the empirical success of SRT. In AST, local Lorentz symmetry arises as a stability condition of the underlying vacuum dynamics rather than as a fundamental geometric postulate. This reconceptualization allows quantum non-locality and relativistic kinematics to coexist within a unified, time-ordered ontology.
Testing Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) is notoriously difficult, as its characteristic energy scale, M⋆, in modified dispersion relations typically lies beyond current experimental reach. To enable a low-energy probe, we investigate the quantum coherence of an inertial Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) detector interacting with a massless scalar field with a Lorentz-violating dispersion relation ω∣k∣=∣k∣f(∣k∣/M⋆). Unlike the Lorentz-invariant case where quantum coherence is rapidity-independent, we find for the Lorentz-violating quantum field case the dynamics of detector's quantum coherence exhibits a strong dependence on its rapidity -- offering a potential low-energy signature of LIV. Applying this to the polymer-quantized scalar field theory inspired by loop quantum gravity, we show that the detector's quantum coherence exhibits a pronounced dependence on rapidity and undergoes a sharp transition near a critical rapidity βc≈1.3675, a value within reach of existing facilities like the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. We also show how the detector's rapidity and its energy-level spacing enhance the response to the test of LIV. Our results establish quantum coherence as a sensitive and practical probe of LIV, providing a complementary avenue for testing quantum gravity-induced modifications to field theory.
This paper introduces a novel framework for analog gravity in which an effective (2+1)-dimensional Lorentzian spacetime emerges dynamically on the information geometry of a driven open quantum system. Unlike traditional fluid-based analogs, the spatial fabric is provided by the Quantum Fisher Information Metric (QFIM) over a control-parameter manifold, while laboratory time serves as the temporal axis. Using Keldysh nonequilibrium field theory, the study demonstrates that the Lorentzian signature and thus the existence of causal light cones-originates fundamentally from the thermodynamic passivity of the quantum state. This profound connection makes the causal structure a tunable, falsifiable property: driving the system into population inversion triggers a signature-breakdown transition that destroys the hyperbolicity of the emergent spacetime. Supported by exact derivations for a two-qubit model and concrete experimental protocols involving continuous homodyne detection and FPGA-based feedback, the research offers a fully measurable laboratory platform to explore the intersection of quantum information geometry, nonequilibrium thermodynamics, and emergent causal structure. By Gökay Yıldız gokay@krekpot.com
No experimental test to date has provided conclusive evidence on the quantum nature of gravity. Recent proposals, such as the Bose-Marletto-Vedral experiment, suggest that generating entanglement could serve as a direct test. Motivated by these proposals, we study a system of three-harmonic oscillator system, with the mediator oscillator operating in two distinct parameter regimes: a heavy mediator regime and a light mediator regime. These regimes induce qualitatively different entanglement dynamics between the terminal oscillators. Crucially, distinguishing these regimes experimentally remains challenging when relying solely on entanglement measures. We demonstrate that the dynamical fidelity susceptibility offers a viable and sensitive probe to contrast the regimes in practice. Our results provide testable signatures for optomechanical and trapped-ion platforms simulating gravitational interactions, and provide new avenues to characterize quantum-gravity-inspired systems beyond entanglement-based protocols.
This preprint clarifies a persistent category error in the interpretation of quantum mechanics and relativity by explicitly distinguishing propagation from correlation. Relativistic constraints, including the finite speed of light, apply to the transmission of energy, matter, and information through spacetime. Quantum mechanics, by contrast, permits nonlocal correlations between entangled systems that do not involve transmission, motion, or signal propagation. The apparent instantaneity of quantum effects therefore reflects the revelation of pre-existing correlation structure rather than superluminal dynamics. By maintaining this separation, the preprint shows that the finite speed of light and quantum nonlocality are not in conflict. Light is limited in speed because it propagates; quantum correlations have no speed because nothing propagates. This framing resolves common misconceptions surrounding entanglement, nonlocality, and causality without introducing hidden structures, preferred frames, or violations of relativistic invariance. The work is intended as a conceptual clarification and falsifiable interpretive framework, not a modification of quantum theory or relativity. Keywords quantum correlation nonlocality entanglement speed of light relativity causality non-signaling propagation vs correlation foundations of quantum mechanics conceptual clarification