Quantum Coherence Theory A Constraint-based Framework for Classical Emergence

Miguel Orszag

Matthew Ainsworth

(This version has been superceeded, see v.3) Contemporary approaches to physical unification typically emphasize dynamical laws, interpretive frameworks, or information-theoretic reconstructions. Less attention is given to the structural constraints that determine which physical descriptions can remain coherent and stable under interaction, scale transition, and aggregation. This paper develops a constraint-first analysis of coherence, arguing that persistence and unification require restrictions on admissible physical continuations that are not reducible to dynamics alone. Within the framework referred to here as Quantum Coherence Theory (QCT), coherence is treated not as a fragile quantum resource but as a structural property governed by interaction geometry and constraint density. On this view, classical behavior emerges when accumulated constraints sufficiently narrow admissible evolution, while quantum behavior re-emerges when constraints are relaxed. The account does not introduce new dynamics, collapse mechanisms, or modifications of quantum formalism, but instead clarifies the conditions under which existing formalisms yield stable, unified descriptions. The resulting constraints distinguish QCT from observer-centric, intrinsic-collapse, and purely descriptive decoherence accounts, while remaining compatible with globally unitary dynamics. Formal analysis in later sections develops operational redundancy conditions, admissibility constraints on joint states, and rigidity-style arguments linking redundant record structure to the stability of classical descriptions. These results do not constitute a complete theory of unification, but they narrow the space of physically admissible descriptions and clarify the structural role of coherence in bridging quantum and classical regimes.

Miguel Orszag

Matthew Ainsworth

Viable Worlds Theory (VWT) presents a constraint-based framework for understanding why some worlds, systems, or environments are able to persist while others cannot. At its core, VWT is grounded in Quantum Coherence Theory (QCT), which provides a physical account of coherence, decoherence, and classical emergence without appeal to observer privilege, epistemic collapse, or branching ontologies. In QCT, the quantum–classical transition is treated not as a discontinuous event or interpretive choice, but as a continuous restriction of admissible configurations under increasing constraint density. Classical behavior emerges when alternative trajectories are no longer structurally viable, not because new laws are introduced, but because constraint accumulation renders deviation unsustainable. Decoherence is therefore understood as a structural phenomenon driven by environmental coupling, record formation, and invariant alignment, rather than as a measurement artifact or probabilistic selection. Viable Worlds Theory generalizes this insight beyond physics. It proposes that persistence under constraint is the primary explanatory primitive across domains. A “world” is defined not by belief, equilibrium, optimization, or narrative coherence, but by whether its structure can continue to exist under interaction, accumulated load, and environmental coupling. Many systems fail not because they are locally inconsistent or inefficient, but because they violate global viability conditions that only become visible under scale, interaction, or time. Within this framework, coherence is defined as the capacity of a system to maintain internal consistency relative to its own invariant structure while interacting with externally imposed invariants without loss of identity or stability. Where this condition fails, persistence fails with it—regardless of substrate or domain. Quantum systems provide the minimal physical test case for this claim, making QCT the foundational regime from which VWT is derived rather than merely illustrated. VWT explicitly distinguishes itself from Many-Worlds and other branching interpretations. While QCT allows for vast ontic possibility at the quantum level, it denies that unconstrained proliferation yields enduring worlds. Instead, only configurations that satisfy shared invariants and constraint compatibility can stabilize as persistent environments. The contribution of Viable Worlds Theory is not a new dynamics or a universal optimization principle, but a diagnostic framework for identifying why only certain structures—physical, informational, biological, cognitive, or engineered—are able to endure. By grounding world viability in quantum coherence and extending it through scale-agnostic constraint analysis, VWT offers a unified explanation for persistence, collapse, and the limits of admissible reality. (For ongoing discussion and additional material related to Coherence Science, Viable Worlds Theory (VWT), Quantum Coherence Theory (QCT), and Artificial Coherence Intelligence (ACI), see: r/CoherenceScience)

Ayoub Taoussi

Description This work proposes an information-theoretic framework for describing the quantum–classical transition during cosmological inflation through open quantum system dynamics and entanglement evolution. The study introduces a normalized Quantum Persistence Function (QPF) as a scale-invariant diagnostic measure of residual quantum coherence, formulated in representation-independent form using reduced density matrix purity and entropy growth. The framework connects microscopic decoherence processes with macroscopic cosmological observables by applying spin–boson open-system dynamics to inflationary perturbations. Classical emergence is interpreted as a dynamical suppression of quantum coherence driven by entanglement entropy growth between cosmological modes rather than by simple interference cancellation. Observational constraints from primordial Gaussianity bounds are used to derive an efficiency condition for decoherence during reheating, expressed as a lower bound on the decoherence functional. The results show that classicalization occurs well below holographic entropy saturation limits, suggesting that cosmological classical emergence is governed primarily by dynamical information redistribution rather than fundamental information capacity thresholds. This work is deposited on Zenodo as an open scientific preprint to encourage constructive discussion and feedback from the scientific community. KEYWORDS: Quantum classical transition; decoherence theory; inflationary cosmology; open quantum systems; entanglement entropy; cosmological perturbations; quantum persistence function; information theory in physics; primordial fluctuations; classical emergence dynamics