English

Spontaneous wave function collapse from non-local gravitational self-energy

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2026-05-14 v2 High Energy Physics - Theory Quantum Physics

Abstract

We incorporate non-local gravitational self-energy, motivated by string-inspired T-duality, into the Schr\"odinger-Newton equation. In this framework spacetime has an intrinsic non-locality, rendering the standard linear superposition principle only an approximation valid in the absence of gravitational effects. We then invert the logic by assuming the validity of linear superposition and demonstrate that such superpositions inevitably become unstable once gravity is included. The resulting wave-function collapse arises from a fundamental tension between the equivalence principle and the quantum superposition principle in a semiclassical spacetime background. We further show that wave functions computed in inertial and freely falling frames differ by a gravitationally induced phase shift containing linear and cubic time contributions along with a constant global term. These corrections produce a global phase change and lead to a spontaneous, model-independent collapse time inversely proportional to the mass of the system.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.15393,
  title  = {Spontaneous wave function collapse from non-local gravitational self-energy},
  author = {Kimet Jusufi and Douglas Singleton and Francisco S. N. Lobo},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.15393},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

10 pages. V2: 11 pages, discussion added; version accepted for publication in PLB

R2 v1 2026-07-01T08:29:05.874Z