The Born Rule from Modular Flow: Probability as the Jacobian of Time
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Born rule is a foundational postulate of quantum mechanics stating that for a quantum systemin a pure state |ψ⟩, the probability of measuring an observable to have a particular eigenvalue is givenby | ⟨a|ψ⟩ |2 . We demonstrate that within the framework of E8 modular cosmology, where the globalalgebraic structure is governed by the exceptional Lie group E8 , the Born rule emerges uniquely asthe only probability measure invariant under the modular flow (Tomita-Takesaki theory) associatedwith the vacuum state. For type III1 factors, which are generic in algebraic quantum field theoryand E8 cosmology, the modular automorphism group is ergodic, forcing the invariant probabilitymeasure to coincide with the vacuum state expectation. We establish that this derivation admitsa geometric interpretation: probability equals relative volume in the noncommutative spacetime,with the quantum state playing the role of the volume measure. This eliminates the Born rule asan independent postulate, deriving it instead from the mathematical structure of modular theory,the uniqueness of the E8 -invariant vacuum, and the requirement that probability be the Jacobianof the modular time flow.
Author: Janik, John
Language: English
Subfield: Mathematical Physics
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7116365758
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