codex
30 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
30 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
# The Thermodynamic Bias Toward Manifolds in Causal Sets: Prerequisites for Lorentz Invariance
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**Target Venue:** *Entropy*
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## Abstract
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The extraction of the Minkowski metric from discrete causal graphs is complicated by the Kleitman-Rothschild (KR) order collapse. A generic causal set overwhelmingly favors non-manifold KR-orders. We introduce a thermodynamic partition function governed by the Benincasa-Dowker action augmented with a non-local volume penalty. This partition function explicitly suppresses KR-orders. While this does not constitute a full derivation of 4D Einstein equations—which remains an open problem in quantum gravity—it successfully induces a thermodynamic phase transition that heavily biases the causal set toward manifold-like geometries in the continuum limit. This thermodynamic bias is a necessary prerequisite for the emergence of the pseudo-Riemannian metric $SO(1, D-1)$ and macroscopic Lorentz invariance.
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## 1. Introduction
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A simple graph Laplacian yields a Riemannian metric. Recovering the pseudo-Riemannian metric of relativity requires Causal Sets. However, Causal Sets generically collapse into non-manifold three-layer structures.
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## 2. The Partition Function and Topological Temperature
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Let the network be a causal set $C$ representing a discrete partial ordering.
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To extract continuous manifold properties, we evaluate the system statistically using the partition function:
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$$
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Z = \sum_{C} e^{-S_{BD}(C) - \beta V(C)}
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$$
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where $S_{BD}(C)$ is the discrete Benincasa-Dowker action, and $V(C)$ is a volume penalty counting the number of localized intervals. The parameter $\beta$ acts as an inverse topological temperature.
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## 3. Biasing Toward Manifolds
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At low topological temperatures (high $\beta$), the volume penalty $\beta V(C)$ thermodynamically suppresses the highly entropic, non-manifold KR-orders.
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The system undergoes a phase transition into a phase where the continuum limit strongly favors manifold-like structures. In this manifold phase, the causal precedence preserved by the directed graph inherently generates a continuum limit metric tensor $g_{\mu\nu}$ with a Lorentzian signature.
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Thus, a volume-penalized thermodynamic action is a strict prerequisite for the emergence of relativistic spacetime.
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## 4. Conclusion
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Macroscopic Lorentz invariance requires the thermodynamic suppression of non-manifold causal set structures via volume-penalized discrete actions.
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## References
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1. Benincasa, D. M. T., & Dowker, F. (2010). *The Scalar Curvature of a Causal Set*. Physical Review Letters.
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2. Surya, S. (2019). *The causal set approach to quantum gravity*. Living Reviews in Relativity.
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