Quantum Records, Definite Outcomes, and the Born Rule from Finite Accessibility - The Measurement Completion of the Operational Framework

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Authors: Paul Cooney
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Abstract

Papers I and II derived gravitational geometry and second-order dynamics from finite accessibility without invoking measurement, observation protocols, or collapse as primitive notions. This paper extends the operational program to the measurement sector, deriving the structure of record formation and probabilistic weights from the same finite accessibility and compositional constraints. Finite accessibility restricts admissible operations on a subsystem to a proper operator subalgebra. Because bounded certification excludes operators requiring nonlocal coordination or arbitrarily fine phase resolution, the accessible algebra is strictly smaller than the full operator algebra. When a system becomes correlated with orthogonal environment sectors, off-diagonal operators between those sectors fall outside the accessible algebra. The reduced state is therefore indistinguishable, under all admissible operations, from its diagonal ensemble. Definiteness emerges as an algebraic consequence of sector restriction, not as a collapse postulate. The weights of these sectors are fixed uniquely by compositional consistency. Phase invariance, multiplicativity under independent refinement, and stability under record coarse-graining constrain any admissible assignment of sector weights to satisfy a functional equation whose only continuous, non-contextual solution is quadratic in amplitude. The Born rule therefore arises as the unique invariant measure compatible with finite accessibility. Irreversibility follows from action scaling: reversal requires operators outside the admissible tensor algebra and incurs action cost proportional to the number of correlated subsystems. Since admissible operations are bounded by the action gap, macroscopic record reversal is excluded. Measurement introduces no new physical primitives beyond finite accessibility, locality, and compositional stability. Record formation, classical definiteness, and Born probabilities are structural consequences of algebraic restriction under finite accessibility. **This paper is part of the Finite Accessibility series, which reconstructs gravitational geometry, quantum dynamics, gauge structure, cosmological perturbation theory, and the dark sector from a single operational primitive: a finite certification ceiling ω* governing the maximum rate at which physical relations can be maintained across extended domains.** **Introductory papers** - Geometric Limits to Coherent Timekeeping in Extended Reference Frames — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18824556 - Accessibility Selection Law (ASL) — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18824649 - Phase Boundary Gravity — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18824707 **Pillars (numbered I–IV)** - Paper I: Deriving Gravitational Geometry and Schrödinger Dynamics from Finite Accessibility — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18601600 - Paper II: Deriving Inertia, Motion, and Wave Propagation from Finite Accessibility — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18625174 - Paper III: Accessible State Spaces, Record Stability, and the Emergence of Quantum Statistics — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18625192 - Paper IV: Frame Dissolution, the Certification Ceiling, and Observable Deformations — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18654458 **Extension papers** - Dark Matter from Finite Accessibility — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18654433 - Dark Energy from Finite Accessibility — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18654523 - No-Go Theorems and the Admissibility Corridor — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18654493 - Gauge Structure from Finite Accessibility — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18928152 - Perturbation Theory from Finite Accessibility — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18928213 **Experimental paper** - Experimental Probes of Finite Accessibility: GW Dispersion and Vacuum Path Independence — https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18931126 **Keywords:** Born rule derivation, measurement problem, quantum statistics, finite accessibility, operator subalgebra, record formation, definiteness emergence, wave function collapse, compositional consistency, accessible state spaces, action gap, irreversibility, sector restriction, quantum foundations, algebraic quantum mechanics, decoherence

Fields of Study & Subjects

Quantum Mechanics and Applications Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories Quantum Information and Cryptography

Publication details

Journal / source
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Publication date
12 February 2026
Language
EN