ZIP Gravitational Collapse as a Phase Transition of a Coherence Field

This work presents the ZIP (Zonal Information–Coherence) framework, an effective theoretical model that interprets gravitational collapse as a phase transition of a coherence field rather than the formation of a physical singularity. Within this framework, matter becomes informationally localized while the underlying field structure of spacetime remains continuous, undergoing a change in causal properties. The ZIP approach preserves the formal structure of general relativity and does not modify Einstein’s equations. Instead, it introduces a scalar coherence field that modulates the effective gravitational influence of matter and provides an alternative interpretation of event horizons, entropy scaling, and information retention in black hole formation. Gravitational collapse is described as a transition between open and locked regimes of the coherence field, where the event horizon emerges as a phase boundary rather than a material surface. Black hole entropy naturally follows an area law through field gradients at this boundary, offering a field-theoretic interpretation consistent with established results in black hole thermodynamics. The framework is presented as a conservative, phenomenological model intended to clarify conceptual issues surrounding singularities, causality, and information in extreme gravitational regimes. It is compatible with current observational constraints and is formulated to allow further mathematical refinement and potential testable predictions.