Without a Path: Why Quantum Mechanics and Relativity Imply Each Other Without Mediation

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Authors: Timothy Speed
Cited by: 2

Abstract

The persistent incompatibility between quantum mechanics (QM) and general relativity (GR) is commonly treated in physics as a technical or mathematical problem. Either a deeper dynamics is sought that connects both theories, or a formal meta-theory that unifies their concepts.This paper proposes a different reading. It claims neither a unification nor a correction of the existing theories. Instead, it shows that the contradiction between QM and GR is not a deficit of the theories themselves, but the consequence of an unspoken ontological omission: the lack of a determination of the transition from possibility to facticity.At the center stands the thesis that quantum mechanics and relativity mutually imply one another without being connected by a process, a path, or a shared dynamics. The transition between openness and stability is not a physical event within the world, but a shift in the conditions under which a world can occur at all.Using the terms indimergence and shift of being (Seinsverschiebung), this transition is specified as a boundary structure: indimergence designates the non-dynamical coercion toward objectivity, while shift of being denotes the irreversible change of the conditions of further world-formation. From this perspective, it becomes intelligible why the conflict between QM and GR cannot be “solved” — and why precisely therein lies its ontological significance.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Quantum Mechanics and Applications Relativity and Gravitational Theory Appalachian Studies and Mathematics

Publication details

Journal / source
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Publication date
26 January 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Preprint