Proper-Time Projection Theory: A Deterministic Framework for Emergent Quantum Mechanics

This paper introduces the Proper-Time Projection Theory (PTP), a framework in which quantum phenomena emerge from deterministic field dynamics evolving in proper time and projected into observer time with finite temporal resolution. Within this formulation, the probabilistic structure of quantum mechanics is interpreted not as fundamental, but as a consequence of temporal coarse-graining imposed by measurement. The theory recovers the Schrödinger equation as an effective observer-time evolution law and derives the quantum potential as a leading correction arising from information loss under projection. It extends conceptually to quantum field theory (QFT) by reinterpreting particle creation and annihilation as projection-dependent field excitations. The framework preserves empirical structures such as Bell correlations while offering a deterministic underpinning. A central conceptual tool is the analogy to shutter speed in photography, in which insufficient temporal resolution produces apparent blur. Extending this analogy, the theory proposes that superposition is relative, and that the observer effect arises from projection dynamics rather than wavefunction collapse. The theory yields a concrete experimental prediction: interference visibility should depend on measurement temporal resolution. If confirmed, this would support a reinterpretation of quantum mechanics as an emergent theory grounded in deterministic proper-time evolution. Keywords: quantum mechanics, relativity, measurement theory, interference, temporal resolution