For greater than a century, physics has been constructed on two nice theories. Einstein’s common relativity explains gravity because the bending of house and time. Quantum mechanics governs the world of particles and fields. Each work brilliantly in their very own domains. However put them collectively and contradictions seem—particularly in terms of black holes, darkish matter, darkish vitality, and the origins of the cosmos.
My colleagues and I’ve been exploring a new option to bridge that divide. The concept is to deal with info—not matter, not vitality, not even spacetime itself—as essentially the most elementary ingredient of actuality. We name this framework the quantum reminiscence matrix (QMM).
At its core is a straightforward however highly effective declare: Spacetime is just not easy, however discrete—manufactured from tiny “cells,” which is what quantum mechanics suggests. Every cell can retailer a quantum imprint of each interplay, just like the passage of a particle and even the affect of a power reminiscent of electromagnetism or nuclear interactions, that passes by way of. Every occasion leaves behind a tiny change within the native quantum state of the spacetime cell.
In different phrases, the universe doesn’t simply evolve. It remembers.
The story begins with the black gap info paradox. In response to relativity, something that falls right into a black gap is gone endlessly. In response to quantum concept, that’s unimaginable. Info can not ever be destroyed.
QMM affords a approach out. As matter falls in, the encompassing spacetime cells document its imprint. When the black gap ultimately evaporates, the data is just not misplaced. It has already been written into spacetime’s reminiscence.
This mechanism is captured mathematically by what we name the imprint operator, a reversible rule that makes info conservation work out. At first, we utilized this to gravity. However then we requested: What concerning the different forces of nature? It seems they match the identical image.
In our fashions assuming that spacetime cells exist, the sturdy and weak nuclear forces, which maintain atomic nuclei collectively, additionally depart traces in spacetime. Later, we prolonged the framework to electromagnetism (though this paper is at present being peer reviewed). Even a easy electrical discipline modifications the reminiscence state of spacetime cells.
Explaining Darkish Matter and Darkish Vitality
That led us to a broader precept that we name the geometry-information duality. On this view, the form of spacetime is influenced not simply by mass and vitality, as Einstein taught us, but in addition by how quantum info is distributed, particularly by way of entanglement. Entanglement is a quantum characteristic wherein two particles, for instance, could be spookily related, that means that in the event you change the state of 1, you robotically and instantly additionally change the opposite—even when it’s gentle years away.
This shift in perspective has dramatic penalties. In a single research, at present below peer evaluate, we discovered that clumps of imprints behave identical to darkish matteran unknown substance that makes up many of the matter within the universe. They cluster below gravity and clarify the movement of galaxies—which seem to orbit at unexpectedly excessive speeds—without having any unique new particles.
In one other, we confirmed how darkish vitality may emerge too. When spacetime cells are saturated, they can’t document new, impartial info. As an alternative, they contribute to a residual vitality of spacetime. Apparently, this leftover contribution has the identical mathematical kind because the “cosmological fixed,” or darkish vitality, which is making the universe broaden at an accelerated price.
Its measurement matches the noticed darkish vitality that drives cosmic acceleration. Collectively, these outcomes counsel that darkish matter and darkish vitality could also be two sides of the identical informational coin.
A Cyclic Universe?
But when spacetime has finite reminiscence, what occurs when it fills up? Our newest cosmological paper, accepted for publication in The Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, factors to a cyclic universe—being born and dying again and again. Every cycle of growth and contraction deposits extra entropy—a measure of dysfunction—into the ledger. When the sure is reached, the universe “bounces” into a brand new cycle.
Reaching the sure means spacetime’s info capability (entropy) is maxed out. At that time, contraction can not proceed easily. The equations present that as a substitute of collapsing to a singularity, the saved entropy drives a reversal, resulting in a brand new section of growth. That is what we describe as a “bounce.”
By evaluating the mannequin to observational information, we estimate that the universe has already gone by way of three or 4 cycles of growth and contraction, with fewer than 10 remaining. After the remaining cycles are accomplished, the informational capability of spacetime could be totally saturated. At that time, no additional bounces happen. As an alternative, the universe would enter a last section of slowing growth.
That makes the true “informational age” of the cosmos about 62 billion years, not simply the 13.8 billion years of our present growth.
To date, this may sound purely theoretical. However now we have already examined elements of QMM on in the present day’s quantum computer systems. We handled qubits, the essential items of quantum computer systemsas tiny spacetime cells. Utilizing imprint and retrieval protocols based mostly on the QMM equations, we recovered the unique quantum states with over 90 % accuracy.
This confirmed us two issues. First, that the imprint operator works on actual quantum techniques. Second, it has sensible advantages. By combining imprinting with typical error-correction codes, we considerably diminished logical errors. Which means QMM won’t solely clarify the cosmos, but in addition assist us construct higher quantum computer systems.
QMM reframes the universe as each a cosmic reminiscence financial institution and a quantum pc. Each occasion, each power, each particle leaves an imprint that shapes the evolution of the cosmos. It ties collectively a few of the deepest puzzles in physics, from the data paradox to darkish matter and darkish vitality, from cosmic cycles to the arrow of time.
And it does so in a approach that may already be simulated and examined within the lab. Whether or not QMM proves to be the ultimate phrase or a stepping stone, it opens a startling risk: The universe might not solely be geometry and vitality. It’s also reminiscence. And in that reminiscence, each second of cosmic historical past should still be written.
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