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May 21, 2026Physics Letters B0 citationsOpen Access

Spacetime Discreteness via Consistent Microscopic Measurement

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WMWeihu MaYMYu-Gang Ma

Key Points

  • The aim is to explain spacetime discreteness through consistent microscopic measurement rather than specific structures.
  • Formulated a Micro-Measurement Principle that treats spacetime intervals as scale-dependent outcomes.
  • Developed an equivalent dual representation for microscopic lengths leading to discrete measurement outcomes.
  • Analyzed the scaling-deformed uncertainty relations in the context of Lorentz invariance.
  • Demonstrated that classical continuous spacetime corresponds to an unstable limiting regime.
  • Established that a finite microscopic length naturally leads to discrete spacetime structures.
  • Found that the uncertainty relation reduces to the standard Heisenberg form without symmetry breaking.

Abstract

The physical origin of spacetime discreteness remains a central open problem in quantum gravity, with most existing approaches relying on specific microscopic structures or model-dependent assumptions. In this letter, spacetime discreteness can arise instead as a consequence of consistent microscopic measurement. By treating infinitesimal spacetime intervals as scale-dependent measurement outcomes rather than predefined geometric entities, we formulate a Micro-Measurement Principle in which spacetime quantum fluctuations are encoded directly in the scaling structure. An equivalent dual representation of microscopic lengths leads to discrete, equidistant measurement outcomes, with the corresponding scaling-deformed uncertainty relation thereby reducing to the standard Heisenberg form. The microscopic lengths are further governed by a geometric renormalization-group flow admitting finite-length fixed points. This construction preserves Lorentz invariance and general covariance without ad hoc cutoffs or symmetry breaking. Our results show that the classical continuous-spacetime description corresponds to an unstable limiting regime, whereas a finite microscopic length and a discrete spacetime structure arise naturally from the fundamental requirements of micro-measurement consistency.

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Cite This Study

Ma et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a0ea0f7be05d6e3efb5f537https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2026.140561
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