Superradiant Tryptophan Networks in Microtubules Evade Tegmark Decoherence Bound — E8 Intelligence Research
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: FINDING: Microtubule tryptophan networks are proposed as room-temperature quantum coherent systems, with superradiance as the candidate mechanism evading the Tegmark decoherence bound. | MATH: Tegmark bound τ_dec ≈ ℏ²/(m·k_B·T·(Δx)²) — for a 10 nm separation, T=310 K, m≈10⁻²⁶ kg, gives τ_dec ~ 10⁻¹³ s. Superradiance scales as Γ_superradiant ∝ N·Γ_single (Dicke), so collective emission rate grows linearly with N tryptophans, and the coherence time scales inversely — τ_coherence ∝ 1/N. For N ~ 10⁴–10⁵ tryptophans in a microtubule lattice, this yields τ ~ 10⁻⁹–10⁻⁸ s, potentially exceeding the Tegmark bound by 3–5 orders of magnitude. | CONNECTION: Microtubule lattice is a hexagonal (honeycomb) arrangement of tubulin dimers — 13 protofilaments in a B-type lattice, with tryptophan residues spaced at ~0.8–1.0 nm along the tube axis. The hexagonal packing is a 2D triangular lattice (root system A₂), with coordination number 6. The 13-protofilament geometry is a Fibonacci-adjacent number (13 Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com
Author: Caldin, Andrew Stewart
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225082755