The current formulation of quantum theory is notoriously agnostic about the ontological aspects of the propagation of elementary particles and their interactions. In this brief note, we propose a minimal ontological representation of interactions, based on a micro-cosmological description of the manifestation of these particles in the collapse events of their wave function. The fading of the pre-collapse wave function and the arising of the post-collapse function occur dynamically, as they asymptotically approach different sheets of the same micro-cosmological horizon, whose projections onto ordinary spacetime are placed at finite times.
The current formulation of quantum theory is notoriously agnostic about the ontological aspects of the propagation of elementary particles and their interactions. In this brief note, we propose a minimal ontological representation of interactions, based on a micro-cosmological description of the manifestation of these particles in the collapse events of their wave function. The fading of the pre-collapse wave function and the arising of the post-collapse function occur dynamically, as they asymptotically approach different sheets of the same micro-cosmological horizon, whose projections onto ordinary spacetime are placed at finite times.
The current formulation of quantum theory is notoriously agnostic about the ontological aspects of the propagation of elementary particles and their interactions. In this brief note, we propose a minimal ontological representation of interactions, based on a micro-cosmological description of the manifestation of these particles in the collapse events of their wave function. The fading of the pre-collapse wave function and the arising of the post-collapse function occur dynamically, as they asymptotically approach different sheets of the same micro-cosmological horizon, whose projections onto ordinary spacetime are placed at finite times.
The current formulation of quantum theory is notoriously agnostic about the ontological aspects of the propagation of elementary particles and their interactions. In this brief note, we propose a minimal ontological representation of interactions, based on a micro-cosmological description of the manifestation of these particles in the collapse events of their wave function. The fading of the pre-collapse wave function and the arising of the post-collapse function occur dynamically, as they asymptotically approach different sheets of the same micro-cosmological horizon, whose projections onto ordinary spacetime are placed at finite times.
A theoretical description of quantum jumps at the level of elementary particles is proposed, based on a micro-cosmological interpretation of their de Broglie phase. The third quantization formalism proposed in current literature for the description of baby universes in quantum cosmology is used here to describe the breakdown of unitarity in the transition from the pre-jump to the post-jump wave function. The corpuscular aspect manifested by the particle in the micro-interaction that originates the jump is represented by a pair of evanescent "micro-universes", respectively pre- and post-jump, connected by a wormhole. The latter represents the actual implementation of the interaction that leads to the projection on the outgoing state; this interaction is always local, even when the selected outgoing state is entangled. Therefore, the decoherence which leads to the emergence of classicality is originated by the same fundamental interactions of the Standard Model involved in the unitary evolution of the wave function. The objective nature of the reduction process admits implications on the possibility of using the formalism in the cosmological context, which are briefly discussed.
This paper makes a case for ontology, the study of existence, to be explicitly and formally incorporated into foundational physics in general and the wave function collapse of quantum mechanics in particular. It introduces a purely ontological distinction between two modes of physical existence-actualizable and actual- into the conventional mathematical representation of the wave function collapse, and examines the implications of doing so, arguing that this may lead to insights that permit one to understand seemingly mysterious aspects of the wave function collapse, such as ’Schro ̈dinger’s cat paradox’, as well as how quantum theory in general and Einstein’s general theory of relativity relate to one another. A specific empirical prediction is given, which if confirmed, may move ontology outside the exclusive purview of philosophy.
This paper makes a case for ontology, the study of existence, to be explicitly and formally incorporated into foundational physics in general and the wave function collapse of quantum mechanics in particular. It introduces a purely ontological distinction between two modes of physical existence-actualizable and actual- into the conventional mathematical representation of the wave function collapse, and examines the implications of doing so, arguing that this may lead to insights that permit one to understand seemingly mysterious aspects of the wave function collapse, such as 'Schrodinger's cat paradox', as well as how quantum theory in general and Einstein's general theory of relativity relate to one another. A specific empirical prediction is given, which if con rmed, may move ontology outside the exclusive purview of philosophy.
“For me then this is the real problem with quantum theory: the apparently essential conflict between any sharp formulation and fundamental relativity. That is to say, we have an apparent incompatibility, at the deepest level, between the two fundamental pillars of contemporary theory...” J. S. Bell (2004, p. 171) The inability to delineate a unified physical ontology that accounts simultaneously for the laws of special relativity and the results of quantum experiments has been a defining problem in physics for more than 100 years. Although various primitive ontologies (including Bohmian pilot wave, spontaneous collapse, and objective collapse theories) along with wave function realism ontologies, many-worlds interpretations, and multi-field theories address the tension between special relativity and quantum mechanics, none has successfully resolved it. This analysis addresses the problem by positing an ontic, mixed ontology composed of a “discrete” 4D spacetime and a physical, ultra-high dimensional (3 x N) “Planck Space.” Together, Planck Space and the three spatial dimensions of 4D spacetime form a tightly integrated ((3 x N) + 3) hyperspace (the “Dual Ontology”). 4D spacetime’s three spatial dimensions and the N dimensions of Planck Space are composed of two substructures: discrete, three-dimensional, quantized units of space ("Planck Spheres") and an ontic State of Absolute Nothingness (the "SOAN") whose sole physical characteristic is onticness. Critically, the Dual Ontology’s structure replaces 1) the continuous, differentiable manifold of 4D spacetime with a discrete 4D spacetime and 2) mathematical 3N configuration spaces with a physical (3 x N) Planck Space. Moreover, structurally and dynamically, the Dual Ontology is predicated on the one-to-one mapping and identity between the Planck Spheres that simultaneously form 4D spacetime and Planck Space. The one-to-one mapping and identity physically and theoretically support an integrated quantum dynamics based upon the dynamic evolution of single and N-body quantum states in 4D spacetime in full compliance with the laws of special relativity and the instantaneous collapse of all quantum states in an ontic Planck Space, where special and general relativity and more generally, 4D spacetime’s laws of physics, do not apply. Keywords: Quantum Cosmology; Special Relativity; Quantum Mechanics, Wave Function Collapse; Mixed Ontology; Dual Ontology; (3 x N) Planck Space; Planck Identity; Bell Identity