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Submitted:
04 June 2024
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05 June 2024
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“…[Q]uantum mechanics and general relativity, taken together, imply that there is a limit to the divisibility of space. Below a certain scale, nothing more is accessible. More precisely, nothing exists there.”24 (Emphasis added).
“Empty space is a very interesting place in modern physics; there’s a lot going on, whereas, if it were nothing, there would be nothing going on…. [S]o it’s probably better to think of nothing as the absence of even space and time, rather than space and time without anything in them. There’s a big difference between empty space and nothing.”25 (Emphasis added).
“The concept of a true void, apart from inducing a queasy feeling, strikes many people as preposterous or even meaningless. If two bodies are separated by nothing, should they not be in contact? How can ‘emptiness’ keep things apart or have properties such as size or boundaries?” 29 (Emphasis added).
1 | (Allori et al., 2008); (Allori, 2013b, 2015, 2016). |
2 | (Dürr & Goldstein, 1997); Goldstein & Zanghi, 2011). |
3 | (Bassi & Ghirardi, 2003); (Bassi et al., 2013). |
4 | (Gao, 2016, 2024); (Ney, 2021). |
5 | (Carroll & Singh, 2018); (Vaidman, 2021a). |
6 | (Belot, 2012); (Hubert & Romano, 2018); (Norsen et al., 2015); (Romano, 2020). |
7 | The analysis does not address nomological or epistemological approaches to quantum mechanics. |
8 | Despite the Dual Ontology’s unique structure, “It may be that a real synthesis of quantum and relativity theories requires not just technical developments but radical conceptual renewal.” (Bell, 2004, p. 171). See also (Maudlin, 2014, p. 24): “My own view is that…belief in the completeness of Relativity as an account of space-time structure has been irrationally fetishized just as belief in the completeness of the quantum-mechanical description had been by Bohr and company.” |
9 | See (Howard, 1989, pp. 247-253) for an early consideration of higher dimensional spaces. See also (Monton, 2002, 2006). |
10 | (Lewis, 2013, p. 116). |
11 | See Monton, 2002, p. 207, 2006) regarding the critical importance of one-to-one mapping between 3D space and ultra-high dimensional spaces. See also (Albert, 2013, p. 54); (Maudlin, 2007 p. 3161, 2013b); (Ney, 2021, pp. 207-215). |
12 | “A physical theory should clearly and forthrightly address two fundamental questions: what there is, and what it does. The answer to the first question is provided by the ontology of the theory, and the answer to the second by its dynamics.” |
13 | (Maudlin, 2019, p. 3). |
14 | See (Maudlin, 2013b, 2019, pp. 36-37 and 79-93); (Monton, 2006); (Pusey et al., 2012). See (Ney, 2021, p.11) for an alternate view of quantum states. |
15 | In order to avoid confusion, the term “quantum state” is used in this analysis rather than John Bell‘s now famous term “beables.” See (Allori, 2021); (Ney, 2021, p. 42). |
16 | Maudlin, 2007, 2011, p. 197). |
17 | See (Monton, 2002). |
18 | Similarly, with regard to Quantum Field Theory, an entangled N-body quantum state represented in Fock Space cannot simultaneously be represented mathematically in the 3 spatial dimensions of 4D spacetime. |
19 | The theoretical problems of a mathematical 3N configuration space were well understood in the early days of quantum mechanics. (Przibram, 2011, p. 48); (Howard, 1990); (Bacciagaluppi & Valentini, 2009, p.447). |
20 | But see (Ney, 2021). |
21 | See generally, (Huggett & Wüthrich, 2013). |
22 |
22. (Barrow, 2002); (Grunbaum, 2009); (Holt, 2012). An ontological SOAN turns one of the greatest philosophical questions of all time on its head. The question is not, “Why is there something rather than nothing?” Rather, it is, “Why is there something AND nothing?”
|
23 | See (Krauss, 2012). |
24 | (Holt, 2012). See also (Moghri, 2020, p. 81): “Another move is to coin the term ‘nothingness’ as a name that refers to a state empty of every concrete thing. Using that term, one can better distinguish between the two meanings of the statement ‘There is nothing:’ one that uses a negative quantifier and means that there is no concrete thing; another that uses a positive quantifier and means that there is an abstract thing (the state of nothingness). Thus, the statement ‘There is nothingness’ can be meaningful and coherent without referring to concrete things.” |
25 | (Rovelli, 2018, p. 152). |
26 | Interview with Sean Carroll, Vice Magazine On Line. What is Nothing? with Nick Rose, October 31, 2018. |
27 | For extensive discussions on the issues associated with a physical state of nothingness, see (Holt, 2012); (Barrow, 2002); (Kuhn, 2013). |
28 | See generally (Bedingham, 2021); (Gao, 2006, 2018b, pp. 248-253); (Smolin, 2004). Whether 4D spacetime is a continuous or discrete space is a controversial subject. In addition to preventing singularities upon the initial emergence of the 4D spacetime at t = 0 or the center of black holes, space discretization prevents the infinities that appear in the quantization of Relativity. Arguments in favor of the discretization of space have been proposed based upon mathematics, electrodynamics, quantum electrodynamics, loop quantum gravity, loop quantum cosmology, string theory, discrete lattice, asymptotic safe gravity, causal sets, spin foams, deformed special relativity, causal dynamical triangulation, quantum graphity, and black hole theory among others. (Crouse, 2016); (Crouse & Skufca, 2018); (Hagar, 2014); (Hossenfelder, 2013, 2014). |
29 | The precise shape and size of Planck Spheres is unknown, and the description of “ Planck Spheres” is illustrative only. |
30 | (Davies, 2014, p. 126). |
31 | See (Adams, 2019, p. 158). “We first note that most authors agree that habitable universes should have only one time dimension… If space-time had more than one temporal dimension, then closed time-like loops could be constructed. Such loops, in turn, allow for observers to revisit the “past” and thereby affect causality.” |
32 | See also (Albert 1992, 2013), (Chen, 2019), and (Ney, 2021) regarding the ontic nature of a wave function in higher-dimensional 3N spaces. |
33 | Although the complexity differs, a single Planck Hyper-Point and a single 3-dimensional point in a discrete 4D spacetime are analogous. In a discrete 4D spacetime, a single, 3-dimensional point in 4D spacetime can be described by its 3 spatial coordinates in the x, y, z dimensions. Similarly, a single Planck Hyper-Point is defined by the coordinates of its individual dimensions in a (3 x N) Planck Space. |
34 | For an earlier version of Sections 3, 4, and 5 of this analysis, see (Kahan, 2024). |
35 | For an alternative approach, see (Norsen et al., 2015). |
36 | See section 5.4 for additional information on the “quantum connection.” |
37 | See also (Genovese, 2023); (Genovese & Gramenga, 2022) regarding non-locality and ultra-high dimensions. |
38 | The preferred basis for all observations of a quantum state is the position basis. (Bell, 204, p. 161); (Maudlin, 2019, pp. 48-50). |
39 | Following the quantum state’s generalized localization, it once again begins to spread. See section 4.4 for additional information on the meaning of “generalized localization.” |
40 | The 4D spacetime laws of special relativity, including the maximum speed of light, c, the invariance of the speed of light, time dilation, length contraction, the equivalence of mass and energy, the relativity of simultaneity, and relativistic energy increase, apply in all circumstances except for the instantaneous collapse of a quantum state in Planck Space. |
41 | See (Gao, 2019) regarding the incompatibility of unitary quantum theories and relativity. |
42 | Under the Dual Ontology conjecture, single quantum states always dynamically evolve in 4D spacetime subject to the laws of special relativity and always collapse in Planck Space where the laws of Relativity do not apply. |
43 | See (Allori, 2022); (Bricmont, 2016); (Broglie, 1964); (Norsen, 2005). |
44 | If the walls of Boxes B, C, and D are “impenetrable,” there must be a physical explanation for the presence of the entire quantum state in Box C or Box D following the collapse of the quantum state. The explanation lies at the heart of the Dual Ontology conjecture. Recall that a quantum state is always composed of a Bell Quantum Field in 4D spacetime and a single Bell Quantum Hyper-Point in Planck Space. When a quantum state is inserted into “impenetrable” Box B, it will be composed of Bell Quantum Field B in Box B and Bell Quantum Hyper-Point B in Planck Space. Similarly, when the divider is inserted into Box B and Box B is separated into Boxes C and D, Bell Quantum Field C, and Bell Quantum Field D not only continue to form a single Bell Quantum Hyper-Point (Bell Quantum Hyper-Point CD) but also the Bell Identity simultaneously links Bell Quantum Hyper-Point CD to Bell Quantum Field C inside Box C and Bell Quantum Field D inside Box D. The collapse of Bell Quantum Hyper-Point CD is an event in an ultra-high dimensional Planck Space that is extraneous to 4D spacetime. Accordingly, the physical existence of an ultra-high dimensional Planck Space ensures that Bell Quantum Hyper-Point B and Bell Quantum Hyper-Point CD were never physically constrained by the three spatial dimensions of 4D spacetime or “impenetrable” Boxes B, C, or D in the first instance. |
45 | For alternative views, see generally (Allori et al., 2021). |
46 | See also section 4.6 on quantum tunneling. |
47 | Double-slit experiments describe a quantum state by its wave function rather than the considerably more amorphous terms “charge density” or “energy content.” Nevertheless, since all quantum states are real if an electron passes through slits A and B, the charge density, and the energy content of the electron, however ill-defined after it has passed through slits A and B, must also do so. See (Sebens C. T., 2021). |
48 | The “which way” monitoring experiment is based upon the example presented in Maudlin, 2019, pp. 14-16. |
49 | The dynamic evolution and collapse of quantum states also apply to black hole information loss. See generally (Giddings, 2019); (Wallace D., 2018).(Bohm, 1951, pp. 611-619) |
50 | Although the Stern-Gerlach experiment in the z direction is conducted in 4D spacetime on either Bell Quantum Field E in Princeton or Bell Quantum Field F in Copenhagen, the Bell Identity ensures that the experiment is simultaneously reflected on Bell Quantum Hyper-Point EF in Planck Space. More generally, any quantum experiment in 4D spacetime is always reflected simultaneously on the quantum state’s Bell Quantum Hyper-Point in Planck Space. |
51 | For a mathematical 3N notation the transition would be ∣ψ 1,2⟩→∣ψ 1⟩⊗∣ψ 2⟩. |
52 | (Lewis, 2016, pp. 72-107). |
53 | In Planck Space, a single Bell Quantum Hyper-Point is neither space-like separated nor a separable system. See Section 5.1 and 5.2 below. See also (Ney, 2021, pp. 112-128); (Howard, 1985, p. 197). |
54 | For a detailed discussion, see (Ney, 2021). |
55 | The unobservable Universe is considerably larger than the observable universe and may be infinite. |
56 | Although decoherence extensively considers environmental triggers and the loss of coherence rather than a specific quantum collapse mechanism, the Dual Ontology conjecture supports a very specific collapse mechanism initiated by 4D spacetime Physical Interactions. |
57 | The concepts of gravity, the strong nuclear force, and the electro-weak force do not exist in Planck Space. |
58 | No specific assumptions are made regarding dark matter or dark energy. |
59 | See also (Licata & Chiatti, 2019). |
60 | Physical triggers such as nuclear interactions on the sun may be statistically determinable, but individual quantum state collapses are still time and location-dependent. |
61 | The collapse rate of individual quantum states on the sun directly relates to temperature and location. |
62 | Humans can control and precisely vary the collapse rate of electrons at will using a scanning tunneling microscope. |
63 | (Bassi, et al., 2012). |
64 | (Ghirardi, 2004, p. 406). |
65 | The Dual Ontology conjecture conflicts with mathematical models that describe quantum state collapse to a single dimensionless point, a Dirac delta function, or an eigenstate of position with a single discrete value. |
66 | From the perspective of the Dual Ontology conjecture, "The problem is that mathematics has become too dominant in physics. We have become so focused on finding mathematical descriptions of nature that we have forgotten to ask if these descriptions are actually true. We have become so entranced by the beauty of mathematics that we have lost sight of the goal of physics, which is to understand the real world." (Hossenfelder, 2018, p. 8). “Physics is not mathematics, and mathematics is not physics.” (Feynman, 1985, p. 55). See also (Allori, 2016). |
67 | See footnote 43 regarding “impenetrable boxes” and section 4.7 below regarding the Born Rule. |
68 | In the context of pilot wave theory, see (Castro et al., 2018). |
69 | For a discussion on the Born Rule, see (Maudlin, 2019); (Ney, 2021, pp. 4-11). |
70 | See (Bacciagaluppi & Valentini, 2009, p. 136) regarding the debates between Schrödinger and Born and the probability density rule. |
71 | Under the Dual Ontology conjecture, the probability of a quantum state’s generalized localization must always sum to one. |
72 | This interpretation is also at odds with Quantum Field Theory. Although relativistic rather than non-relativistic, QFT treats the Born Rule as a probability density rather than a probability. |
73 | (Bell, 2004, p. 171); See also (Norsen, 2011, p. 1216). |
74 | The terminology that describes 4D spacetime may confirm Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concern that “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” (Wittgenstein, 1922, p. 74). |
75 | Although the term “non-separable” has multiple definitions, a stronger version of that term holds that “…the non-separability of states is the claim that spatio-temporal separation is not a sufficient condition for the individuating systems themselves, that under certain circumstances the contents of two spatio-temporally separated regions of space-time constitute just a single system”. (Howard, 1989). For a slightly different perspective, see (Ney, 2016). Einstein’s primary concern was not with non-separability per se but with the possibility that non-separability implied a violation of his theory of special relativity. (Howard, 1985, pp. 172-173); (Howard, 1989, p. 232). See also (Maudlin, 2011, pp. 88-89). |
76 | See also (Ney, 2016, 2021). |
77 | The non-separability of a Bell Quantum Hyper-Point addresses a concern raised by Einstein. Einstein questioned whether spatially separated quantum states in 4D spacetime had an independent reality. (Wiseman, 2006). The existence of a single ultra-high dimensional Bell Quantum Hyper-Point would help to prove two points. First, space-like quantum states separated in 4D spacetime are ontic, and second, they are not physically independent. |
78 | See (Maudlin, 2011, pp. 21-2 ). |
79 | The ability of a Bell Quantum Hyper-Point to maintain a “quantum connection” also answers the self-interference puzzle outlined in (Gao, 2020). An electron’s Bell Quantum Hyper-Point contains all of the information regarding an electron’s charge distribution regardless of whether the electron is space-like separated in 4D spacetime. The electron’s Bell Quantum Hyper-Point also quantum discriminates and is non-attenuated, but it does not interfere with itself. In this sense, all electrons (and all quantum states) are not the same; they are all different. See also (Sebens, 2021, 2022); (Wechsler, 2021). |
80 | Future theoretical work and testing may very well prove that electrons are, in fact, unique rather than indistinguishable. |
81 | (Brunner et al., 2014). |
82 | (Goldstein et al., 2011); (Maudlin, 2014, p. 21); See also (Bell & Gao, 2016). |
83 | See (Maudlin, 2011, pp. 53, Note 1). |
84 | (Ney, 2021, p. 96). See (Allori, 2022) regarding different uses of the term “non-local” in Einstein/de Broglie Box experiments. |
85 | See (Banerjee et al., 2016): “We conclude that the problem of time in quantum theory is intimately connected with the vexing issue of quantum non-locality and acausality in entangled states. Addressing the former compels us to revise our notions of space-time structure, which in turn provides a resolution for the latter.” |
86 | See also (Genovese, 2023). |
87 | See also (Ney, 2021, pp. 104-119). |
88 | See generally (Allori, 2023): “In any case, I think that the result of Bell’s theorem is the true quantum revolution: not the paradigm shift in terms of the type of understating one can achieve, but a new feature of the world. The natural, question then is how to combine quantum nonlocality with relativity”. |
89 | (Bell, 2004, p. 171). See also (Penrose, 1997, p. 137): “My own view is that, to understand quantum non-locality, we shall require a radical new theory. This theory will not just be a slight modification of quantum mechanics but something as different from standard quantum mechanics as general relativity is different from Newtonian gravity. It would have to be something which has a completely different conceptual framework. In this picture, quantum non-locality would be built into the theory”. See also (Kastner, 2023). |
90 | (Maudlin. 2011, p. 185). |
91 | For an earlier version of Part II, see (Kahan, 2024, pp. 24-29). |
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