Quantum cosmic censor: gravitation makes reality undecidable

TL;DR

This paper explores how gravitation limits measurement precision, leading to a reformulation of quantum mechanics that avoids the measurement problem and suggests that reality may be fundamentally undecidable, with implications for philosophy.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum theory incorporating gravitational effects that resolves the measurement problem through decoherence without collapse, maintaining unitary evolution.

Findings

Gravitation imposes fundamental limits on measurement accuracy.

The reformulated theory predicts the same observable outcomes as standard quantum mechanics.

Gravitational effects render the question of reality's nature empirically undecidable.

Abstract

When one takes into account gravitation, the measurement of space and time cannot be carried out with infinite accuracy. When quantum mechanics is reformulated taking into account this lack of accuracy, the resolution of the measurement problem can be implemented via decoherence without the usual pitfalls. The resulting theory has the same physical predictions of quantum mechanics with a reduction postulate, but is radically different, with the quantum states evolving unitarily in terms of the underlying variables. Gravitation therefore makes this worrisome situation, potentially leading to two completely different views of reality, irrelevant from an empirical point of view. It may however be highly relevant from a philosophical point of view.