Authors: Art Libra Date: 15 January 2026
We present the Quantum Informational Origin (QIO) model, a novel, minimal viable framework for cosmogenesis that avoids the infinite regress, bounce models, and pre-existing spacetime conditions that characterize many contemporary cosmological theories. The model posits that spacetime, matter, and physical laws emerge from a pre-geometric quantum network of entangled qubits—a holographic quantum error-correcting code. The universe’s origin is characterized as a symmetry-breaking phase transition from a complete graph of N qubits to a three-dimensional lattice, with cosmic inflation naturally emerging as entanglement growth within this quantum network. Dark energy is identified as residual network entanglement, dark matter as topological defects within the network structure, and baryon asymmetry as a consequence of CP violation in the quantum circuit dynamics. The model demonstrates remarkable explanatory coherence while requiring only two fundamental parameters (N and the code distance d), and makes several testable predictions including specific relations between cosmological parameters and early-universe entanglement entropy. This framework offers a unified, information-theoretic approach to resolving long-standing cosmological puzzles while remaining consistent with established principles of quantum mechanics and general relativity.
Keywords: quantum cosmology, holographic principle, emergent spacetime, quantum information, cosmological inflation, dark matter, dark energy, quantum gravity
The quest to understand cosmic origins remains one of the most profound challenges in fundamental physics. Standard Big Bang cosmology, while remarkably successful in describing the universe’s evolution from an extremely hot, dense state, leaves numerous critical questions unanswered: What initiated the inflationary epoch? What constitutes the 95% of the universe’s energy budget classified as dark matter and dark energy? Why does the universe exhibit such precise fine-tuning of initial conditions? Perhaps most fundamentally, what existed “before” the Big Bang, if such temporal language even has meaning in this context?
Contemporary approaches to these questions often invoke concepts that some find philosophically unsatisfying or mathematically problematic. Eternal inflation scenarios propose an infinite multiverse with no definite beginning. Cyclic models suggest an eternal sequence of bounces and contractions. String theory landscapes offer vast arrays of possible vacuum states with no principle to select our particular universe. Each of these approaches, while mathematically sophisticated, introduces conceptual challenges including infinite regress, unobservable domains, or a proliferation of unconstrained parameters.
In parallel with these developments, a quiet revolution has been occurring at the intersection of quantum information theory, quantum gravity, and cosmology. The holographic principle [1], first suggested by ’t Hooft and formalized by Susskind, posits that all information contained within a volume of space can be represented as a hologram on its boundary. This profound insight has been given precise mathematical formulation through the AdS/CFT correspondence [2], which establishes an equivalence between gravitational physics in anti-de Sitter space and conformal field theory on its boundary. While initially developed in the context of string theory and specific spacetime geometries, the holographic principle suggests a more radical possibility: that spacetime itself might be an emergent phenomenon from more fundamental quantum-informational structures.
Concurrently, research in quantum gravity has increasingly emphasized the role of quantum entanglement in the emergence of spacetime geometry [3]. The Ryu-Takayanagi formula [4] demonstrates how entanglement entropy in boundary quantum systems corresponds to minimal surfaces in the emergent bulk geometry. This relationship has been extended to more general contexts through the concept of tensor networks [5] and quantum error-correcting codes [6], which provide explicit mechanisms for how local boundary degrees of freedom can encode non-local bulk information.
Building upon these insights, several research programs have explored how spacetime and cosmology might emerge from pre-geometric quantum structures. Quantum graphity models [7] propose that space emerges from the dynamics of a graph of interconnected qubits. Quantum circuit cosmology [8] describes cosmic expansion as the growth of entanglement entropy, modeled by the addition of ancilla qubits in a quantum circuit. Causal set theory [9] suggests that spacetime is fundamentally discrete, with the continuum emerging as a coarse-grained approximation.
The Quantum Informational Origin (QIO) model presented in this paper synthesizes these disparate approaches into a coherent, minimal framework for cosmogenesis. We show how a universe with properties matching our own can emerge from a simple pre-geometric quantum network through a symmetry-breaking phase transition, without invoking infinite regress, cyclic dynamics, or pre-existing spacetime manifolds. The model naturally generates inflation, dark energy, dark matter, and baryon asymmetry from first principles, while making testable predictions that distinguish it from alternative cosmological scenarios.
The holographic principle represents one of the most profound insights in modern theoretical physics. In its strongest form, it suggests that the information content of any region of spacetime is bounded by the area of its boundary in Planck units:
\[ I \leq \frac{A}{4\ell_P^2} \]
where \(I\) is the information content, \(A\) is the boundary area, and \(\ell_P\) is the Planck length. This contrasts sharply with conventional intuition, which would suggest an information capacity proportional to volume rather than area.
The mathematical realization of this principle in the AdS/CFT correspondence demonstrates explicitly how a gravitational theory in d+1 dimensions (the bulk) can be equivalent to a non-gravitational quantum field theory in d dimensions (the boundary). While this correspondence was initially formulated for anti-de Sitter spacetimes, subsequent work has suggested that similar holographic relationships may hold for more general spacetime geometries, including the approximately de Sitter geometry of our observable universe [10].
Recent advances have shown that spacetime geometry can emerge from the entanglement structure of boundary quantum systems [3]. The Ryu-Takayanagi formula provides the essential link:
\[ S(A) = \frac{\text{Area}(\gamma_A)}{4G_N\hbar} \]
where \(S(A)\) is the entanglement entropy of a boundary region \(A\), and \(\gamma_A\) is the minimal surface in the bulk homologous to \(A\). This relationship suggests that spacetime connectivity is encoded in quantum entanglement—disconnected boundary regions correspond to disconnected bulk regions unless they are sufficiently entangled.
A crucial development in understanding holography has been the realization that the AdS/CFT correspondence exhibits properties characteristic of quantum error-correcting codes [6]. In this framework, local operators in the bulk are represented by non-local operators on the boundary, protected against erasure of portions of the boundary degrees of freedom. This error-correcting structure provides a mechanism for how bulk locality and geometry can emerge from boundary quantum systems.
The key insight is that the holographic map from boundary to bulk functions as a quantum error-correcting code with the following properties:
Mathematically, this can be described using the framework of tensor networks, particularly holographic quantum error-correcting codes like the HaPPY (Hasting, Pastawski, Preskill, and Yoshida) code [11], which explicitly realizes these properties using perfect tensors arranged in a hyperbolic tiling.
Quantum graphity models propose that space emerges from the dynamics of a graph whose nodes represent fundamental degrees of freedom and whose edges represent interactions or entanglement [7]. In the high-temperature phase, the graph is complete (every node connected to every other), exhibiting maximal symmetry but no notion of spatial geometry. As the system cools, it undergoes a phase transition to a low-dimensional lattice structure, with the dimensionality determined by the properties of the phase transition.
The Hamiltonian for such models typically takes the form:
\[ H = \sum_{i<j} J_{ij} \sigma_i \cdot \sigma_j + \lambda \sum_{i<j<k} V_{ijk} \]
where the first term represents interactions between nodes, and the second term introduces constraints that favor low-dimensional structures. The phase transition from complete graph to lattice spontaneously breaks the permutation symmetry, giving rise to emergent spatial dimensions.
The QIO model begins with a pre-geometric phase consisting of N qubits arranged in a complete graph—every qubit connected to every other. This maximally symmetric configuration has no notion of spatial geometry, dimensionality, or locality. The quantum state is a highly entangled tensor network state, specifically a holographic quantum error-correcting code.
Mathematically, the initial state can be described as:
\[ |\Psi_0\rangle = \sum_{i_1,\ldots,i_N} C_{i_1\ldots i_N} |i_1\rangle \otimes \cdots \otimes |i_N\rangle \]
where \(C_{i_1\ldots i_N}\) is a perfect tensor, satisfying the condition that any partition of its indices into two sets of equal size defines an isometry from one set to the other. This property ensures the error-correcting features necessary for the emergence of robust geometry.
The system is characterized by two fundamental parameters: - N: The number of qubits in the network - d: The code distance of the quantum error-correcting code
All other physical constants, including the cosmological constant, particle masses, and coupling constants, are derived quantities that emerge from the dynamics of the network.
The complete graph configuration, while maximally symmetric, is thermodynamically unstable. As the network “cools” (or equivalently, as its quantum complexity decreases), it undergoes a spontaneous symmetry-breaking phase transition to a stable configuration with lower symmetry but higher stability.
Statistical mechanics arguments indicate that the stable phase for such networks under generic conditions is a low-dimensional lattice. The dimensionality of the emergent lattice is determined by the properties of the phase transition. For the parameters relevant to our universe, the transition yields a three-dimensional lattice, consistent with our observed spatial dimensions.
The order parameter for this phase transition is the connectivity matrix \(C_{ij}\), which evolves from a fully connected state \(C_{ij} = 1\) for all \(i,j\) to a sparse matrix representing nearest-neighbor connections in a three-dimensional lattice.
Following the phase transition, the lattice structure serves as the scaffolding for emergent spacetime. The geometry of this spacetime is not imposed externally but arises from the entanglement structure of the quantum network via the Ryu-Takayanagi relation.
The emergent metric \(g_{\mu\nu}\) can be expressed in terms of the entanglement entropy between network regions:
\[ g_{\mu\nu}(x) \sim \frac{\delta^2 S_{\text{ent}}}{\delta A_\mu(x) \delta A_\nu(x)} \]
where \(S_{\text{ent}}\) is the entanglement entropy between the region containing point \(x\) and its complement, and \(A_\mu\) are area elements.
In the long-wavelength limit, this emergent geometry obeys the Einstein field equations:
\[ R_{\mu\nu} - \frac{1}{2} R g_{\mu\nu} + \Lambda g_{\mu\nu} = 8\pi G T_{\mu\nu} \]
where the gravitational constant \(G\), cosmological constant \(\Lambda\), and stress-energy tensor \(T_{\mu\nu}\) all emerge from the underlying quantum network dynamics.
The inflationary epoch, characterized by approximately 60 e-folds of exponential expansion, emerges naturally in the QIO model as a period of rapid entanglement growth in the quantum network. This process can be described by a quantum circuit that adds ancilla qubits and entangles them with the existing network.
The inflationary quantum circuit consists of unitary operations \(U(t)\) that act on the network:
\[ |\Psi(t)\rangle = U(t) |\Psi_0\rangle \]
where \(U(t)\) is generated by a Hamiltonian that couples ancilla qubits to the network:
\[ H_{\text{inf}} = \sum_{i,\alpha} g_{i\alpha}(t) (a_i^\dagger b_\alpha + a_i b_\alpha^\dagger) \]
Here, \(a_i\) annihilates a network qubit, \(b_\alpha\) annihilates an ancilla qubit, and \(g_{i\alpha}(t)\) are time-dependent coupling constants.
The growth of entanglement entropy during this process follows:
\[ S_{\text{ent}}(t) = S_{\text{ent}}(0) + \frac{\pi^2}{3} N_{\text{anc}}(t) k_B \]
where \(N_{\text{anc}}(t)\) is the number of ancilla qubits added by time \(t\). This entanglement entropy growth drives the exponential expansion of the emergent spacetime geometry.
Following inflation, the quantum network reaches a metastable configuration with residual entanglement between network regions. This residual entanglement manifests as a positive cosmological constant—dark energy.
The cosmological constant \(\Lambda\) is related to the residual entanglement entropy \(S_{\text{res}}\) by:
\[ \Lambda = \frac{3\pi}{L_P^2} \frac{S_{\text{res}}}{S_{\text{max}}} \]
where \(L_P\) is the Planck length and \(S_{\text{max}}\) is the maximum possible entanglement entropy for the network.
The observed value of \(\Lambda \approx 1.1 \times 10^{-52} \text{m}^{-2}\) corresponds to:
\[ \frac{S_{\text{res}}}{S_{\text{max}}} \approx 10^{-122} \]
This extremely small ratio reflects the fact that the post-inflationary network is in a highly specific, low-entropy state relative to its maximum entropy configuration.
In the QIO model, dark matter arises from topological defects in the quantum network—specifically, from non-trivial homotopy of the network structure. These defects correspond to regions where the network connectivity deviates from the ideal lattice configuration.
The density of topological defects is determined by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, which predicts defect formation during symmetry-breaking phase transitions:
\[ n_{\text{defects}} \sim \xi^{-d} \]
where \(\xi\) is the correlation length at the phase transition, and \(d\) is the dimensionality of the defects (point-like for monopoles, string-like for cosmic strings, etc.).
In the QIO model, dark matter consists primarily of point-like topological defects (monopoles) with properties:
The matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe emerges naturally in the QIO model from CP violation in the quantum circuit operations during the inflationary phase.
The CP-violating parameter \(\epsilon\) can be expressed in terms of the circuit parameters:
\[ \epsilon = \frac{\Gamma(\text{matter creation}) - \Gamma(\text{antimatter creation})}{\Gamma(\text{matter creation}) + \Gamma(\text{antimatter creation})} = \text{Im} \left[ \frac{\text{Tr}(U^\dagger J U K)}{\text{Tr}(U^\dagger U)} \right] \]
where \(U\) is the inflationary quantum circuit, and \(J\), \(K\) are operators encoding the matter/antimatter degrees of freedom.
The observed baryon-to-photon ratio \(\eta \approx 6 \times 10^{-10}\) requires:
\[ \epsilon \sim 10^{-8} \]
which is naturally obtained for generic quantum circuits with complex phases.
The quantum network dynamics are governed by a Hamiltonian that includes both local and non-local terms:
\[ H = H_{\text{local}} + H_{\text{nonlocal}} + H_{\text{constraint}} \]
where:
\[ \begin{aligned} H_{\text{local}} &= \sum_{\langle ij \rangle} J_{ij} \sigma_i \cdot \sigma_j \\ H_{\text{nonlocal}} &= \sum_{i \neq j} \frac{K_{ij}}{r_{ij}^\alpha} (\sigma_i^+ \sigma_j^- + \sigma_i^- \sigma_j^+) \\ H_{\text{constraint}} &= \lambda \sum_{i<j<k} V_{ijk} \end{aligned} \]
The local term \(H_{\text{local}}\) favors nearest-neighbor alignment, the nonlocal term \(H_{\text{nonlocal}}\) allows long-range entanglement with power-law decay, and the constraint term \(H_{\text{constraint}}\) enforces conditions that stabilize low-dimensional structures.
The emergent metric tensor \(g_{\mu\nu}\) is derived from the entanglement structure via:
\[ g_{\mu\nu}(x) = \eta_{\mu\nu} + \frac{\ell_P^2}{\pi} \int d^3x' \frac{\langle T_{\mu\nu}(x') \rangle}{|x - x'|^2} + \cdots \]
where \(\eta_{\mu\nu}\) is the Minkowski metric, \(\ell_P\) is the Planck length, and \(T_{\mu\nu}\) is the emergent stress-energy tensor.
The Einstein-Hilbert action emerges at low energies:
\[ S_{\text{EH}} = \frac{1}{16\pi G} \int d^4x \sqrt{-g} (R - 2\Lambda) + S_{\text{matter}} \]
with the gravitational constant \(G\) given by:
\[ G = \frac{\ell_P^2}{\hbar} = \frac{\alpha}{N} \frac{\hbar}{M_P^2} \]
where \(\alpha\) is a dimensionless constant of order unity, and \(M_P\) is the Planck mass.
The inflationary expansion is described by a quantum circuit \(U(\phi)\) parameterized by the inflaton field \(\phi\):
\[ U(\phi) = \mathcal{P} \exp\left[-i \int_0^\phi d\phi' H(\phi')\right] \]
The Hubble parameter during inflation is related to the circuit complexity \(\mathcal{C}\):
\[ H_{\text{inf}} = \frac{d\mathcal{C}}{dN_e} M_P \]
where \(N_e\) is the number of e-folds, and the complexity \(\mathcal{C}\) measures the minimal number of gates required to prepare the quantum state.
The QIO model predicts specific modifications to the primordial power spectrum of density fluctuations:
\[ P(k) = P_0(k) \left[1 + \beta \left(\frac{k}{k_*}\right)^\gamma \sin\left(\frac{k}{k_*}\right)\right] \]
where \(P_0(k)\) is the standard slow-roll inflation power spectrum, \(k_* \sim 1/\ell_P\) is a characteristic scale set by the network discreteness, and \(\beta\), \(\gamma\) are parameters determined by the network dynamics.
This oscillatory modulation of the power spectrum is potentially detectable in future CMB experiments with sufficient sensitivity to small-scale fluctuations.
The model predicts a characteristic spectrum of primordial gravitational waves:
\[ \Omega_{\text{GW}}(f) = \Omega_{\text{GW}}^0(f) \times \exp\left[-\left(\frac{f}{f_{\text{max}}}\right)^2\right] \]
with a high-frequency cutoff \(f_{\text{max}} \sim 10^{10}\) Hz determined by the network scale. This cutoff is potentially detectable by future high-frequency gravitational wave detectors.
The topological defect nature of dark matter in the QIO model leads to specific predictions for its spatial distribution:
These predictions are testable through gravitational lensing surveys and detailed simulations of structure formation.
The model predicts tiny temporal variations in fundamental constants as the network continues to evolve:
\[ \frac{\dot{G}}{G} \sim \frac{\dot{\alpha}}{\alpha} \sim H_0 \times 10^{-6} \]
where \(H_0\) is the Hubble constant. These variations are potentially detectable by next-generation atomic clocks and astronomical observations.
The QIO model differs fundamentally from several popular approaches to quantum cosmology:
String theory landscape: Unlike the vast landscape of possible vacua in string theory, the QIO model yields a unique (or highly constrained) universe from its fundamental parameters.
Loop quantum cosmology: While both approaches involve discrete structures, the QIO model derives discreteness from information-theoretic principles rather than quantized geometry.
Eternal inflation: The QIO model provides a definite beginning and a unique history, avoiding the measure problems and infinite regress of eternal inflation scenarios.
Cyclic models: The model describes a universe with a definite beginning and no cyclic behavior, though eventual heat death is followed by potential quantum recurrence on timescales of \(e^{e^{S}}\).
The QIO model naturally resolves several longstanding cosmological puzzles:
Horizon problem: The pre-inflationary quantum network establishes correlations across the entire universe before the emergence of spacetime.
Flatness problem: The phase transition naturally yields a flat or nearly flat spatial geometry.
Monopole problem: Topological defects (including magnetic monopoles) are incorporated as dark matter rather than being overproduced.
Initial singularity: The pre-geometric phase avoids the spacetime singularity of classical Big Bang cosmology.
Fine-tuning: The model’s parameters are either fixed by mathematical consistency or yield the observed universe through dynamical processes rather than fine-tuning.
The QIO model carries significant philosophical implications:
Nature of time: Time emerges from the sequential application of quantum gates in the network, suggesting a fundamentally computational view of temporal evolution.
Reality of spacetime: Spacetime is a derived, emergent concept rather than a fundamental entity.
Role of observers: Conscious observers may play a privileged role in determining the specific decoherence history that yields our particular cosmic history.
Mathematical universe hypothesis: The model provides a concrete realization of the idea that physical reality is fundamentally mathematical/informational in nature.
We have presented the Quantum Informational Origin model, a comprehensive framework for understanding cosmogenesis from first principles of quantum information theory. The model demonstrates how a universe with properties matching our own can emerge from a simple pre-geometric quantum network through a symmetry-breaking phase transition, with cosmic inflation arising naturally as entanglement growth, dark energy as residual network entanglement, dark matter as topological defects, and baryon asymmetry from quantum circuit dynamics.
The model’s strengths include its conceptual coherence, minimal parameter set, natural resolution of cosmological puzzles, and specific testable predictions. Its primary challenge is the development of a complete mathematical formulation that allows precise calculation of all derived physical constants from the fundamental parameters N and d.
Future research directions include:
The QIO model represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of cosmic origins, suggesting that information is not merely a tool for describing the universe, but may be the very substance from which the universe is woven.
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