Quantum Tunneling Limits Relativistic Measurement: Non-Ideal but Possible — E8 Intelligence Research
Andrew Stewart Caldin
Abstract
FINDING: Quantum tunneling is a wave-mechanical penetration of finite potential barriers, with a transmission coefficient governed by exponential decay of the wavefunction inside the barrier; recent QFT work shows "impossible" measurements are possible but non-ideal, revealing fundamental limits on relativistic measurement. MATH: - Transmission coefficient for rectangular barrier: \( T \approx e^{-2\kappa a} \), where \( \kappa = \sqrt{2m(V_0 - E)}/\hbar \), \( a \) = barrier width. - General WKB tunneling probability: \( T \approx \exp\left( -\frac{2}{\hbar} \int_{x_1}^{x_2} \sqrt{2m(V(x) - E)} \, dx \right) \). - Decay constant ratio: \( \kappa a \) dimensionless — no new fundamental constant emerges. - QFT impossibility result (arXiv:2311.13644): nonlocal joint measurements in QFT lead to superluminal signaling unless measurement is "non-ideal" — formalized via operator algebra constraints, not a simple equation. CONNECTION: - The exponential decay \( e^{-2\kappa a} Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com