QFT Divergences

\(IaM^e\)

2021

Abstract

Building on the informational perspective of reality developed in Papers II–V, we investigate ultraviolet divergences in quantum field theory assuming the wavefunction emerges as a minimal, compressible program encoding the underlying bitstring field configuration. High-frequency modes correspond to incompressible states with vanishing amplitude, leading naturally to suppression of divergent contributions. Numerical simulations of a 1D lattice \(\phi^4\) theory demonstrate that amplitude-weighted one-loop integrals remain finite and flat across momentum space, while standard integrals diverge. These results suggest that interpreting quantum fields as emergent, algorithmic structures provides an intrinsic, information-theoretic UV regularization mechanism, obviating the need for conventional cutoffs or counterterms.

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Introduction

Traditional QFT encounters ultraviolet (UV) divergences in loop integrals. Regularization and renormalization schemes are typically introduced to control these infinities. Here we propose an alternative: treating the wavefunction as an emergent, algorithmic-information-theoretic object. Highly complex (incompressible) field configurations contribute negligibly to physical amplitudes. This naturally suppresses UV contributions, providing a built-in regularization.

Methods

Lattice \(\phi^4\) Field Simulation

We consider a one-dimensional lattice with \(N\) sites, generating field configurations \(\phi(x)\) subject to a \(\phi^4\) interaction: \[\mathcal{L} = \frac{1}{2} (\partial \phi)^2 + \frac{1}{2} m^2 \phi^2 + \frac{\lambda}{4!} \phi^4.\]

Each configuration is mapped to a bitstring encoding the discretized field: \[\phi_i \in [\phi_{\min}, \phi_{\max}] \rightarrow b_i \in \{0,1\}^{\text{bits\_per\_site}}.\]

QBitwave Wavefunction Reconstruction

Given a bitstring \(\mathbf{b}\) , the QBitwave class constructs a normalized complex amplitude array \(\psi(\mathbf{b})\) representing the minimal program reproducing \(\mathbf{b}\) . Compression-based weights are derived from amplitude norms: \[w(\mathbf{b}) = \|\psi(\mathbf{b})\|^2.\]

One-Loop Integral Evaluation

The one-loop integral for a lattice momentum cutoff \(k_\text{cut}\) is computed as: \[\begin{aligned} I_\text{std}(k_\text{cut}) &= \frac{1}{N_\text{realizations}} \sum_{r=1}^{N_\text{realizations}} \frac{1}{2\sqrt{4 \sin^2(k_\text{cut}/2) + m^2}}, \\ I_\text{info}(k_\text{cut}) &= \frac{1}{N_\text{realizations}} \sum_{r=1}^{N_\text{realizations}} w(\mathbf{b}_r) \frac{1}{2\sqrt{4 \sin^2(k_\text{cut}/2) + m^2}}. \end{aligned}\]

Results

Simulation Parameters

To validate the QBitwave suppression, we performed a Metropolis-Hastings MCMC simulation. Parameters are summarized in Table 1.

Parameters for the information-theoretic \(\phi^4\) simulation.
Parameter Symbol Value
Lattice Sites \(N\) 128
Encoding Resolution \(n\) 8 bits/site
Mass \(m\) 1.0
Coupling Range \(\lambda\) \(\{0.1, 1.0, 10.0\}\)
MCMC Steps \(N_{steps}\) 1000

Integral Comparison

Figure 1 shows the cumulative one-loop integrals versus momentum cutoff \(k\) :

Comparison of standard (divergent) one-loop integral \(I_\text{std}\) and QBitwave amplitude-weighted integral \(I_\text{info}\) .

Entropy Signature

The bitstring Shannon entropy, averaged over realizations, rises from near zero to close to unity as the lattice modes are sampled:

Average bitstring entropy \(H(k)\) versus momentum cutoff \(k\) .

Discussion

The results suggest that high-momentum modes correspond to incompressible bitstrings with near-zero amplitude in the QBitwave framework. This emergent wavefunction perspective provides a natural, information-theoretic UV regularization without the need for manual counter-terms.

Conclusion and Future Work

We have demonstrated that interpreting the wavefunction as a compression-based emergent object successfully regulates one-loop QFT divergences. Future research will focus on:

Supplementary Materials

from qbitwave import QBitwave