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An alternative framework based on causal discrete time with testable implications.

Alejandro José Úbeda

Published Feb 9, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A minimal formal extension of a discrete-time causality framework introducinginternal clocks and effective temporal frequency.Relativistic time dilation is interpreted as a consequence of finite causalcapacity redistribution, consistent with special relativity.
DOI
10.5281/zenodo.18544182

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•Feb 11, 2026•0 citations
What is time? Is it a dimension through which physical systems evolve, a continuous background against which change unfolds, or an emergent construct inferred from physical processes? Despite its central role in physics, time enters theory almost exclusively through measurement, and every operational realization of timekeeping ultimately reduces to the functioning of clocks. This raises a foundational question that is rarely addressed explicitly: what physical quantity do clocks actually count? In this work, we adopt an operational perspective and introduce the Geometric Phase-Projection (GPP) framework, in which time is treated not as a primitive background parameter but as an ordered count of physically readable sections generated under a universal finite propagation bound. Within this framework, relativistic time dilation arises as a geometric projection effect, and the Lorentz factor emerges as a consequence of phase allocation rather than as a primary postulate. Although the GPP construction is fully consistent with standard relativistic predictions at the level of expectation values, it indicates a distinct and testable implication when timekeeping is modeled as an event-counting process: synchronization jitter. This effect originates from an intrinsic mismatch between discrete section counts of systems in relative motion—a temporal Moir'e--type phenomenon that is absent in models assuming perfectly continuous time. We emphasize that the present work does not purport to introduce a new physical theory, nor does it seek to modify the dynamical structure of special relativity or quantum mechanics. Rather, it shows that if time is generated through discrete event formation, a specific and falsifiable operational signature must necessarily arise. By linking geometric projection directly to clock synchronization, the framework outlines a concrete experimental strategy based on high-precision phase-locked optical clocks to probe whether temporal structure is fundamentally continuous or discretely generated. The framework further offers a local, non-retrocausal account of delayed-choice interference experiments by identifying interference patterns with global phase coherence conditions required for section formation, rather than with backward-in-time influence. The predicted synchronization jitter is expected to scale with relative velocity and gravitational potential differences and to lie within the sensitivity range of existing optical-clock networks, thereby transforming a longstanding conceptual question about the nature of time into an empirically tractable hypothesis testable with current metrological technology.
Quantum Time Flow (QTF) introduces a conceptual model in which time is treated not as an external parameter but as a physical, null-propagating field composed of discrete quanta (“time quanta”). Objects do not move through time; instead, their worldlines traverse a flux of this field, and experienced temporal flow emerges from the local geometry and density of that flux. The model reinterprets relativistic phenomena—such as time dilation, horizon structure, and causal boundaries—as consequences of intersections between physical worldlines and the null time field. Linear time is viewed as an emergent coordinate system imposed on a deeper causal architecture. QTF also proposes an alternative interpretation of quantum entanglement. Rather than invoking non-local interactions between material systems, entanglement is treated as a structural correlation encoded in the configuration of the time field itself. This paper presents the postulates of the QTF model, its continuous and discrete formulations, and its conceptual implications. Although purely theoretical and not yet empirically tested, the framework is internally consistent and integrates ideas from relativity, causal set theory, and information-theoretic approaches to quantum mechanics.
The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics establishes a radical but internally consistent premise: the universal wave function evolves unitarily and deterministically at all times, without collapse and without any privileged notion of measurement. While this framework has been extensively discussed at the conceptual level, many of its structural implications—particularly concerning causality, temporal order, and process composition—have remained only implicitly formulated. In this work, we present a systematic formalization of Everett’s process logic using discrete process units (P-Tacts) and show that the quantum switch naturally emerges as a minimal closed P-Tact cycle. Within this framework, indefinite causal order is not introduced as an additional postulate or informational resource, but arises as a direct consequence of cyclic unitary process composition, fully consistent with universal quantum evolution. We begin by revisiting Everett’s relative-state formulation from a process-theoretic perspective. Everett’s insistence on the universality of unitary dynamics already removes any fundamental distinction between “before” and “after” at the level of the global wave function. However, without an explicit discrete process structure, the emergence of causal relations and effective temporal ordering remains conceptually underdetermined. The P-Tact framework addresses this gap by identifying the primitive unit of quantum dynamics as a discrete, operationally realizable unitary process step, rather than a continuous time parameter. By constructing closed cycles of P-Tacts, we demonstrate that causal relations become relational properties of process graphs rather than reflections of an underlying time axis. The minimal non-trivial realization of such a cycle corresponds precisely to the operational structure of the quantum switch. In this setting, the control system does not select between alternative temporal orders; instead, it coherently selects between alternative process paths within a closed P-Tact cycle. Indefinite causal order thus appears as an intrinsic structural feature of the process graph, not as a violation or suspension of causality. This interpretation places the quantum switch firmly within the Everettian framework. Rather than extending or modifying Everett’s interpretation, the quantum switch operationally realizes one of its latent consequences: the coexistence and coherent superposition of multiple process orderings within a single universal wave function. The absence of a fundamental time parameter in Everett’s theory finds a concrete expression here, where effective temporal order emerges only upon projection of the underlying cyclic process structure onto an acyclic subgraph. Furthermore, the P-Tact cycle formalism provides a unifying language connecting several previously distinct domains: quantum control of causal order, quantum teleportation, entanglement-mediated process composition, and the emergence of time and causality from unitary dynamics. From this perspective, the quantum switch represents not an isolated protocol, but the simplest experimentally accessible manifestation of a general class of Everettian process cycles. In conclusion, this work advances Everett’s original program by making explicit the process-level structures implicit in his formulation. The quantum switch, understood as a minimal P-Tact cycle, serves as a concrete bridge between foundational quantum theory and modern experiments on indefinite causal order. In doing so, it demonstrates that recent developments in quantum information theory do not depart from Everett’s vision, but instead bring it to a new level of formal and operational clarity. Bibliography Pavlov, M. (2026). Quantum Switch as an Emergent Process Structure from Discrete Process Tacts (П-такт).Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18498181 Quantum Switch and Teleportation.Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18509173 Emergence of Causality, Gravity, Time, and Three-Dimensional Space from Discrete P-Tact (П-такт) Dynamics.Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18504244 P-Tact (П-такт) as the Primitive Unit of Quantum Theory.Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18516711 Indefinite Causal Order as Superposition of Process Graphs.Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18519010 Everett Interpretation Formalized via P-Tact (П-такт) Path Graphs.Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18524745 Emergence of Time from P-Tact Entanglement (Происхождение времени).Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18526015 From Indefinite Causal Order to Definite Process Order:A Topological Reconstruction of the Quantum Switch via Discrete P-Tacts (П-такт).Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18526959 Causality and Arrow of Time.Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18549931