Quantum Entanglement, ER=EPR, and ObserversPart 1 of the Semiclassical Cosmological Argument in Sum

I introduced my cosmological argument in my 2021 paper "Theodicy, Supreme Providence, and Semiclassical Theism." Here, I will summarize my argument for a general audience.

I will begin by defining the term cosmological argument. That is, a cosmological argument uses premises and deduction to prove the existence of God by logically implying the necessity of God and the dependency of all natural phenomena.

Next, I will divide my summary into three parts. And the first two set the stage for Part 3 which focuses on my definition of God and my argument.

This first part centers on my hypothetical model of universal wormhole observers and its relationship to quantum entanglement. Now, I will describe observers, wormhole theory, and quantum entanglement.

First, Albert Einstein used hypothetical observers to illustrate his introduction to the theory of special relativity. And the observers function as a reference frame for making measurements.

Second, Einstein and Nathan Rosen in 1935 introduced what are called either Einstein-Rosen bridges or wormholes. For example, some solutions for the theory of general relativity permit the mathematical construction of wormholes, and wormholes connect otherwise distant (causally disconnected) regions of space and time.

Third, quantum entanglement refers to distant particles that act as if entangled (causally connected).

Also, Einstein, Boris Podolski, and Rosen in 1935 analyzed entangled electrons and defined a thought experiment known as the Einstein-Podolski-Rosen paradox or simply the EPR paradox. The trio juxtaposed the following while defining their paradox:

—Special relativity implies no possibility of distant particles interacting with each other.
—Cases of distant electrons exhibit correlating action with no evidence of determinism caused by local variables.

And Einstein, Podolski, and Rosen concluded that relativity never permits exceptions for distant particles to entangle while the authors proposed local hidden-variable theory. That is, undetectable local variables caused the determinism of electrons to appear as if they interact with each other at a distance while they never actually interact at a distance.

Eventually, Einstein made his famous quip about "spooky action at a distance." He said this while colorfully rejecting the possibility of quantum entanglement.

However, the 2022 Noble Prize in Physics went to Alain Aspect, John Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger for their research on entangled photons.

The ER=EPR Conjecture
Juan Maldacena and Leonard Susskind in 2013 proposed the ER=EPR conjecture. For example, ER refers to Einstein-Rosen bridges (wormholes) and EPR refers to the EPR paradox. More specifically, the ER=EPR conjecture proposes that each case of quantum entanglement involves a quantum wormhole.

(A quantum wormhole has a radius of 1 Planck length, and a Planck length is the theoretically smallest possible measurement of spatial distance and equals 10 to the negative power of 33 meters.)

In my 2021 paper, section 2.6, I referenced fascinating examples that imply the ubiquity of quantum entanglement.

For example, one astrophysics project discovered "30,000 pairs of entangled photons in the Milky Way that were entangled for at least 600 years."

Another project detected two photons that survived entanglement for 8 billion years. And 2,000 light-years separate the photons. (The 2,000 light-years equal 1 quadrillion miles.)

The 8 billion years is older than the Sun. And the 2,000 light-years are "23 times the distance from the Sun to its closest neighboring star," Proxima Centauri.

Also, laboratories routinely generate entangled photons. And they use the established entangled pathways for quantum teleportation.

(Quantum teleportation involves the immediate transfer of quantum information from one location to a distant location.)

In the context of the ER=EPR conjecture, the universal pervasiveness of quantum entanglement implies the pervasiveness of quantum wormholes.

Further, in each case of entanglement, a quantum wormhole connects the otherwise distant particles. Therefore, the entangled particles are distant from each other in the context of space but connected in the context of the quantum wormhole.

Universal Wormhole Observers
I introduced a model of hypothetical universal wormhole observers in my 2016 paper "Semiclassical Theism and the Passage of Planck Times." And I refined the model in 2021 while incorporating the ER=EPR conjecture and the latest research on quantum entanglement.

First, I clarify that the term universal wormhole refers to the universal potential for wormholes and does not imply the realistic possibility of any wormhole that permits particles to travel through it. (A theoretical wormhole that permits one or more particles to travel through it is called traversable wormhole.)

Second, a universal wormhole observer detects everything in the universe with no interval between the observer and the object.

Third, the next post addresses the nature of the past and future in the context of universal wormhole observers.

Sources
—Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen, "Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?" Physical Review, 1935, volume 47, pages 777-780, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.47.777
— Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen, "The Particle Problem in the General Theory of Relativity, Physical Review, 1935, volume 48, pages 73-77, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRev.48.73
—Juan Maldacena and Leonard Susskind, "Cool Horizons for Entangled Black Holes," Fortschritte der Physik (Progress of Physics), 2013, volume 61, issue 9, pages 781-811, https://doi.org/10.1002/prop.201300020
—James Goetz, "Semiclassical Theism and the Passage of Planck Times," Theology and Science, 2016, volume 14, issue 3, pages 325-339, https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2016.1191881 or the free preprint at https://philpapers.org/rec/GOESTA-2
—James Goetz, "Theodicy, Supreme Providence, and Semiclassical Theism," Theology and Science, 2021, volume 19, issue 1, pages 42-64, https://doi.org/10.1080/14746700.2020.1825195 or the free preprint at https://philpapers.org/rec/GOETSP-4

The Three-Part Series
1) Quantum Entanglement, ER=EPR, and Observers: Part 1 of the Semiclassical Cosmological Argument in Sum
2) Universal Wormhole Observers and Clarified Presentism: Part 2 of the Semiclassical Cosmological Argument in Sum
3) The Argument: Part 3 of the Semiclassical Cosmological Argument in Sum

Copyright © 2022 James Edward Goetz