Gravity Cannot Cure Quantum Mechanics of its Malady of the Collapse of the Wavefunction

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the hypothesis that gravity causes wavefunction collapse, providing theoretical evidence that such a connection is inconsistent and cannot resolve the quantum measurement problem.

Contribution

It offers a first-principles analysis demonstrating the inconsistency of gravity-induced collapse theories with fundamental electrodynamics.

Findings

Gravity does not facilitate wavefunction collapse as previously speculated.

Theoretical calculations show inconsistency in gravity-based collapse models.

The gravitational approach to solving the measurement problem is not tenable.

Abstract

The speculation that gravity is the key to solving the quantum measurement problem has been alive for decades, without any convincing demonstration of a solution. One necessary factor in the relevant proposals is that the gravitational energy of mutual interaction, which scales quadratically with the mass, facilitates the spontaneous collapse of the wavefunctions in spatially separated superpositions. Relying on a simple physical input from electrodynamics, supported by robust first principle calculations, we show that the speculations connecting gravity and the hypothetical spontaneous collapse of the wavefunction are inconsistent and not tenable. The result suggests that the gravitational solution to the problem of the collapse of the wavefunction be put to rest.