| _version_ | 1866901906518966272 |
|---|---|
| author | Brogan-Higgins, Cameron William |
| author_facet | Brogan-Higgins, Cameron William |
| contents | <p>Abstract In this paper I argue that in an FLRW universe, massless excitations propagating along null geodesics provide a rigorous model of “timeless traversal” that avoids the pitfalls of faster-than-light (FTL) speculation. Along null worldlines, proper time vanishes: for the system itself, no time elapses between emission and detection. For comoving observers, however, propagation takes a finite coordinate time determined by the conformal-time interval ∆η = ∫(dt/a(t)). On any constant-time slice, the quantum state is spatially extended, with nonzero detection probabilities within the light cone and zero outside (microcausality). The Hubble parameter H = (da/dt)/a sets the causal scale via the comoving Hubble radius R_H = (aH)^(-1), which determines null connectivity.</p> <p>This framework shows that “timeless traversal” and “many places at once” can be rigorously modeled within relativity and quantum field theory, without invoking FTL matter, while aligning naturally with the thermodynamic arrow of time.</p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_17216145 |
| institution | Zenodo |
| language | |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | Timeless Propagation Without FTL: Null Geodesics and Superposition in FLRW Cosmology Brogan-Higgins, Cameron William <p>Abstract In this paper I argue that in an FLRW universe, massless excitations propagating along null geodesics provide a rigorous model of “timeless traversal” that avoids the pitfalls of faster-than-light (FTL) speculation. Along null worldlines, proper time vanishes: for the system itself, no time elapses between emission and detection. For comoving observers, however, propagation takes a finite coordinate time determined by the conformal-time interval ∆η = ∫(dt/a(t)). On any constant-time slice, the quantum state is spatially extended, with nonzero detection probabilities within the light cone and zero outside (microcausality). The Hubble parameter H = (da/dt)/a sets the causal scale via the comoving Hubble radius R_H = (aH)^(-1), which determines null connectivity.</p> <p>This framework shows that “timeless traversal” and “many places at once” can be rigorously modeled within relativity and quantum field theory, without invoking FTL matter, while aligning naturally with the thermodynamic arrow of time.</p> |
| title | Timeless Propagation Without FTL: Null Geodesics and Superposition in FLRW Cosmology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17216145 |