Interferometric Bounds on Temporal-Field Noise in the Scalar Temporal Field Ontology

This work derives a conservative, operational consequence of the Scalar Temporal Field Ontology (STFO), in which time is modeled as a physical scalar field τ(xμ)\tau(x^\mu)τ(xμ) whose timelike gradient defines a preferred notion of evolution. We show that any two-path interference experiment (optical or matter-wave) yields a quantitative bound on unresolved temporal path-difference fluctuations. Interferometric visibility is identified with the characteristic function of the temporal fluctuation δΔτ\delta\Delta\tauδΔτ, leading to a model-independent constraint on the root-mean-square temporal noise in terms of the measured visibility and the experiment’s phase-generating energy scale. The analysis is intentionally operational and conservative. It does not modify standard quantum probabilities and is compatible with conventional environmental decoherence, appearing as an additional multiplicative coherence factor. Null results therefore impose direct experimental bounds on temporal-field fluctuations within the STFO framework. This paper interfaces quantum foundations, interferometry, and the problem of time, and provides a falsifiable, experiment-facing bridge between the Scalar Temporal Field Ontology and precision laboratory tests.