Bounds on QCA Lattice Spacing from Data on Lorentz Violation

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Mlodinow, Leonard, Brun, Todd A.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Mlodinow, Leonard
Brun, Todd A.
author_facet Mlodinow, Leonard
Brun, Todd A.
contents Recent work has demonstrated that discrete quantum walks, when extended to quantum cellular automata (QCA), can, in the continuum limit, reproduce relativistic wave equations and quantum field theories (QFTs), including free quantum electrodynamics (QED). This QCA/QFT correspondence bridges quantum information processing and high-energy physics, raising fundamental questions about the nature of spacetime: whether it is the continuum QFT or the discrete QCA that is fundamental. For while Lorentz invariance appears robust experimentally, it may only approximate a deeper discrete structure, particularly at Planck-scale energies. This high-energy Lorentz violation is potentially observable either through cumulative effects over cosmic distances or via small deviations at accessible energies. In this paper, we analyze the QCA corresponding to QED and show that it implies both a deviation from the speed of light and spatial anisotropies. Using current experimental and astrophysical constraints, we place upper bounds on the QCA lattice spacing, providing insight into the plausibility of a fundamentally discrete spacetime.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_20136
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Bounds on QCA Lattice Spacing from Data on Lorentz Violation
Mlodinow, Leonard
Brun, Todd A.
Quantum Physics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Recent work has demonstrated that discrete quantum walks, when extended to quantum cellular automata (QCA), can, in the continuum limit, reproduce relativistic wave equations and quantum field theories (QFTs), including free quantum electrodynamics (QED). This QCA/QFT correspondence bridges quantum information processing and high-energy physics, raising fundamental questions about the nature of spacetime: whether it is the continuum QFT or the discrete QCA that is fundamental. For while Lorentz invariance appears robust experimentally, it may only approximate a deeper discrete structure, particularly at Planck-scale energies. This high-energy Lorentz violation is potentially observable either through cumulative effects over cosmic distances or via small deviations at accessible energies. In this paper, we analyze the QCA corresponding to QED and show that it implies both a deviation from the speed of light and spatial anisotropies. Using current experimental and astrophysical constraints, we place upper bounds on the QCA lattice spacing, providing insight into the plausibility of a fundamentally discrete spacetime.
title Bounds on QCA Lattice Spacing from Data on Lorentz Violation
topic Quantum Physics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.20136