This work introduces a framework in which two universes are modeled as distinct global quantum contexts, each characterized by its own complex internal time. The boundary between them is described as a region of minimal quantum coherence, analogous to a modified vacuum in the Casimir effect. Within this configuration‑dependent complex time (CDCT) approach, coherence suppression naturally prevents causal continuity between universes while remaining fully compatible with standard quantum mechanics. The model predicts small but potentially observable deviations in vacuum fluctuations and primordial power spectra, offering a testable pathway to probe contextual structures in cosmology.
This work introduces a framework in which two universes are modeled as distinct global quantum contexts, each characterized by its own complex internal time. The boundary between them is described as a region of minimal quantum coherence, analogous to a modified vacuum in the Casimir effect. Within this configuration‑dependent complex time (CDCT) approach, coherence suppression naturally prevents causal continuity between universes while remaining fully compatible with standard quantum mechanics. The model predicts small but potentially observable deviations in vacuum fluctuations and primordial power spectra, offering a testable pathway to probe contextual structures in cosmology.
This work introduces a framework in which two universes are modeled as distinct global quantum contexts, each characterized by its own complex internal time. The boundary between them is described as a region of minimal quantum coherence, analogous to a modified vacuum in the Casimir effect. Within this configuration‑dependent complex time (CDCT) approach, coherence suppression naturally prevents causal continuity between universes while remaining fully compatible with standard quantum mechanics. The model predicts small but potentially observable deviations in vacuum fluctuations and primordial power spectra, offering a testable pathway to probe contextual structures in cosmology.
Description : This work introduces a novel, model-independent diagnostic framework for quantifying quantum decoherence in primordial inflationary perturbations. The study addresses the fundamental problem of the quantum-to-classical transition in cosmology by defining a normalized persistence functional that captures the suppression of quantum coherence over time. Within an open quantum system approach, each perturbation mode is treated as an effective quantum degree of freedom interacting with an environment, leading to Gaussian suppression of off-diagonal density matrix elements. The proposed functional provides a direct and scalable measure of decoherence efficiency without relying on detailed microscopic modeling. A key feature of the framework is the introduction of a residual coherence parameter, which accounts for possible late-time deviations from complete classicalization. The work further establishes a monotonicity property for the decoherence functional and connects the persistence measure to entropy growth, offering an information-theoretic interpretation of the decoherence process. Importantly, the framework suggests a phenomenological link between residual coherence and observable non-Gaussianity in the cosmic microwave background, opening a pathway for potential observational constraints. The proposed diagnostic functional is broadly applicable across inflationary models and provides a unified tool for comparing decoherence efficiency under different environmental interactions. This work lays the foundation for future studies on quantum signatures in cosmological observables and the persistence of quantum features in the early universe. Keywords : Quantum Decoherence Inflationary Cosmology Primordial Perturbations Open Quantum Systems Quantum-to-Classical Transition Non-Gaussianity Cosmological Perturbation Theory Density Matrix Quantum Cosmology Early Universe Physics Decoherence Functional Entropy and Information Theory
We present a relational framework in which temporal structure is not fundamental but emerges from correlations within a globally stationary quantum state. Each subsystem includes an internal clock, and conditional states evolve effectively with respect to these internal readings. The construction naturally extends to relativistic motion, gravitational redshift, and cosmological expansion, leading to a unified emergent-time functional valid across diverse physical regimes. The theory reproduces classical time dilation, predicts correlation-dependent deviations from standard evolution, and suggests that non-interacting or massless particles exhibit negligible internal time. These consequences open directions for conceptual and experimental investigations in the foundations of temporal physics, from multi-clock quantum systems to precision metrology and cosmological settings. In particular, the framework suggests measurable deviation from standard quantum evolution for highly entangled systems and predicts negligible internal time for massless particles.
The physics of open quantum systems, and therefore the phenomenon of decoherence, has become important in many branches of research. Within this thesis, we investigate the system--environment interaction in the context of different problems. The influence of decoherence is ubiquitous and, due to the scale independence of quantum theory, not limited to microscopic systems. One of the great open problems in theoretical physics is the appearance of a cosmological constant which differs by many orders of magnitude from the theoretical predicted value. In the first part of this thesis we will address this question within the framework of quantum mechanics. The considerations are based on a quantum mechanical model which explains the value of the cosmological constant without introducing extremely small numbers. Decoherence, based on the uncontrollable entanglement with the environment, can explain the localization of the vacuum energy to the classical observed value. The model mentioned above allows, in principle, the tunneling into a universe with a different vacuum energy. We investigate the modification of the tunneling rate due to dissipative effects which follow from the system--bath interaction. Closely related to the cosmological constant problem and subject of the second part of this thesis is the spontaneous decay of a quantum field vacuum. Using a semiclassical approximation it is possible to investigate this process within the framework of the path integral formalism. We discuss the quantum--to--classical transition of the spontaneously nucleated vacuum bubbles. Furthermore, we investigate the dependence of the decay rate on the space-time backgrounds. The third part of this thesis is dedicated to the interaction between quantum systems and their environment in a different context. We investigate the generation of entanglement between two systems which are interacting indirectly with each other through the coupling to a heat bath. The interaction--induced entanglement will be destroyed rapidly through decoherence and dissipation. We will show that it is possible to generate a significant amount of entanglement by imposing certain boundary conditions to the bath. Furthermore, the dependence of the entanglement generation on the spatial separation of the systems will be analyzed. Specifically we will examine the bathinduced entanglement of oscillators and spins.
We present a quantum framework grounded in micro-causality and spacetime quantization, where spacetime is composed of discrete, causally ordered units rather than a continuous manifold. This intrinsic structure naturally generates fundamental quantum features—wave–particle duality, energy quantization, and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle—without invoking canonical quantization, matter-wave postulates, or harmonic-oscillator models. Consequently, this paradigm eliminates the long-standing paradoxes of wavefunction collapse, self-interference, and non-local spooky correlations in entanglement.Within this causal lattice spacetime, quantum commutation relations emerge from finite shift operators, and the uncertainty principle arises geometrically from non-commutativity at the fundamental level. Unlike standard quantum field theory (QFT), which predicts infinite vacuum energy and requires renormalization, the present framework removes zero-point energy, ultraviolet divergences, and fine-tuning. Moreover, U(1) symmetry is broken geometrically on the lattice, leading to mass generation without a Higgs mechanism.The Casimir effect is reinterpreted as a temperature-dependent imbalance in thermal radiation pressure rather than the consequence of vacuum fluctuations, predicting that the Casimir force should vary with ambient temperature. Experimental confirmation of such dependence would directly support the lattice interpretation and challenge the QFT view of vacuum energy.By unifying key quantum behaviors through discrete causal geometry, this model offers a divergence-free and physically grounded alternative to continuum-based QFT. It opens new avenues for quantum unification, cosmology, and the understanding of fundamental constants, without speculative constructs, singularities, or infinities.
This paper proposes a geometric selection framework for quantum measurement that reframes collapse as a contextual, basin-dependent selection process rather than a universal instantaneous postulate. Beginning with the Stern–Gerlach experiment, measurement outcomes are interpreted as symmetry-constrained selections in an internal SU(2) state space, recovering standard spin statistics without invoking hidden classical variables. The framework is extended to sequential measurements and interferometric configurations through the introduction of an explicit, computable collapse-rate functional. This functional interpolates continuously between unitary evolution and effective projection, depending on both branch distinguishability and a phenomenological measure of measurement-basin accessibility. The Born rule is recovered exactly at the moment of selection, ensuring full compatibility with standard quantum mechanics in appropriate limits. The model predicts small, testable deviations from standard quantum mechanics in near-threshold interferometric regimes, where coherence is only partially suppressed. These deviations are distinct from those predicted by objective-collapse models with universal rates and can be constrained using existing and near-term matter-wave interferometry platforms. The approach provides a minimal, empirically grounded extension of measurement theory that remains falsifiable and compatible with current experimental bounds.