Quantum space-time fluctuations and primary state diffusion

Abstract

Nondifferentiable fluctuations in space-time on a Planck scale introduce stochastic terms into the equations for quantum states, resulting in a proposed new foundation for an existing alternative quantum theory, primary state diffusion (PSD). Planck-scale stochastic space-time structure results in quantum fluctuations, whilst larger-scale curvature is responsible for gravitational forces. The gravitational field and the quantum fluctuation field are the same, differing only in scale. The quantum mechanics of small systems, classical mechanics of large systems and the physics of quantum experiments are all derived dynamically, without any prior division into classical and quantum domains, and without any measurement hypothesis. Unlike the earlier derivation of PSD, the new derivation, based on a stochastic space-time differential geometry, has essentially no free parameters. However many features of this structure remain to be determined. The theory is falsifiable in the laboratory, and critical matter interferometry experiments to distinguish it from ordinary quantum mechanics may be feasible within the next decade.