Instructions for Testing Reality
Diamagnetic levitation at 4K. Spin-mechanical coupling creates orientation superposition. The TT-bath resolves the quadrupole.
ROOM TEMP EXPERIMENT IIAAV weak-value amplification at 300K. Picoradian angular sensitivity. No quantum superposition required — just measure the intercept.
CLASSICAL EXPERIMENT IIIEöt-Wash torsion balance. Same mass, different shape. Residual noise at zero pressure.
ELECTROCHEMICAL EXPERIMENT IVTwo matched electrochemical arms, one geometry knob. Stochastic resonance amplification.
Rotational decoherence is the optimal signature.
Couples to position
Gas, electric fields, vibrations
Couples to quadrupole moment
Shape, not position
The insight: Rotational degrees of freedom are naturally shielded from common noise sources. Charge noise acts on center-of-mass, not angle. But the TT-bath sees two different mass distributions when an object is in a superposition of orientations.
Sphere: Qij = 0 → No coupling to TT-bath
Dumbbell: Qij large, anisotropic → Strong coupling
THE SILENT ROTATIONAL INTERFEROMETER
Why not lasers? Optical traps bombard the target with 1015 photons/sec. Each scatter is a measurement that decoheres the state. This dominates all other noise.
The fix: Use magnetic levitation. It is passive, silent, and generates zero heat. The diamond is diamagnetic — it floats in a strong magnetic field gradient.
We cannot easily split a massive object into two paths. Instead, we use the NV spin to create a superposition of angles.
Cool the rotational motion to the ground state. Initialize the internal NV spin.
|0θ⟩ ⊗ |↑⟩Apply a microwave pulse. The NV spin creates a magnetic torque τB. The diamond enters a superposition of being aligned vs. slightly rotated.
1/√2 ( |↑⟩|θ⟩ + |↓⟩|θ+Δθ⟩ )Wait for time τ. Gas is negligible at 4K/UHV. Magnetic noise is low. The TT-bath "measures" the quadrupole difference between angle θ and θ+Δθ.
If ΓTT is real → coherence decaysReverse the torque. Measure the spin state.
Loss of spin contrast = Rotational DecoherenceThe signal-to-noise ratio scales with the size of the object.
Scales as Mass². Since M ∝ R³:
~ R6
Scales as Surface Area:
~ R2
Result: Moving from a small molecule (R ≈ 1 nm) to a nanoparticle (R ≈ 200 nm), the signal-to-noise ratio improves by a factor of 109.
To prove the decoherence is gravitational, not instrumental:
Run the experiment with a sphere. Signal ≈ 0.
Run with a dumbbell. Signal = max.
Unlike optical traps, changing particle shape in a magnetic trap does not alter heating mechanisms.
Even at 10-12 Torr, vary the pressure. Plot decoherence vs. pressure.
The intercept at zero pressure for the dumbbell will be non-zero (ΓTT).
The intercept for the sphere will be zero.
WEAK-VALUE AMPLIFIED ANGULAR NOISE SPECTROSCOPY
At room temperature, creating a macroscopic quantum superposition is hard. But you don't need one. If the TT-bath exists, it adds a geometry-dependent rotational diffusion term that survives when conventional channels are pushed down. Measure the intercept — not the superposition.
Weak values (Aharonov, Albert & Vaidman, 1988) enable measurement of tiny angular deflections with extraordinary sensitivity. A Sagnac interferometer with near-orthogonal postselection amplifies the pointer shift.
Key point: WVA doesn't create new physics — it lets you measure tiny angle changes with strong rejection of translation noise and lower detector requirements.
Micro-fabricated torsion pendulum carrying either a near-sphere or dumbbell mass. Already achieves exquisite torque sensitivity at room temperature.
Anisotropic nanoparticle (dumbbell) with stable libration axis. Requires UHV and charge control, but no cryogenics.
Which-path or polarization degree of freedom in the Sagnac interferometer.
Tiny angular deflection α(t) of a mirror attached to the torsion element produces a small transverse momentum kick to the beam.
Beam transverse position on a split detector.
Nearly dark port (small imbalance phase φ) amplifies the beam shift by 1/φ.
Measure angular displacement time series α(t). Fit PSD around torsional resonance. Conventional channels give pressure-dependent terms. The TT-bath adds a geometry-dependent, pressure-independent term.
bshape ≈ b0 (baseline only)
bshape ≈ b0 + ΓTT(eff)
Dumbbells more susceptible. Neutralize charge, modulate E-fields, show intercept unchanged under reversal.
Even "nonmagnetic" materials have susceptibility. Shield, characterize, geometry-swap to bound.
WVA uses light. Use low power (sensor is sensitive), minimize absorption, show intercept unchanged vs probe power.
Vary dumbbell aspect ratio. Δb should follow Q². If it doesn't, it's not the TT-bath.
What counts as success at room temperature:
Clear dumbbell–sphere intercept difference at P → 0.
Thermal noise is huge but predictable. You're looking for the residual that changes with shape.
Vary dumbbell geometry. Add masses. Change aspect ratio.
If the TT-bath is real, the intercept difference must track Q².
No scaling with probe power. Null under E-field reversal. Null under magnetic bias sweeps.
Keep only the part that tracks Q — and nothing else.
All essential pieces already exist separately: WVA beam-deflection amplification (Dixon et al. PRL 2009), picoradian angular metrology (Turner et al. 2011), mature torsion sensing. The novelty is packaging them into a shape-differential, pressure-intercept experiment.
GEOMETRY-CORRELATED FORCE NOISE
After accounting for EM, thermal, mechanical, and seismic effects:
Irreducible residual force noise sourced by shape:
Near-spherical
Dumbbell
DIFFERENTIAL IONIC INTERFEROMETER
Two matched electrochemical arms, one geometry knob. If the Bath is real, the difference signal lights up only at threshold and only at the stochastic-resonance optimum.
Arm A and Arm B are nominally identical ionic conductors. The only asymmetry: a high-Qℓ object (rod/dumbbell) vs low-Qℓ object (sphere) of equal volume.
O(t) = impedance, admittance, current noise, or phase response
Stochastic resonance requires a bistable element. Choose one:
Spheres in both cells. Verify Δ(t) = noise floor.
Replace A with rod/dumbbell. Keep B as sphere.
Sweep noise amplitude σ across decade range. Acquire Z(f), SI(f), SΔI(f).
Repeat SR scan while sweeping n or V across critical point.
Swap rod↔sphere between arms. Signature must flip.
A Framework C detection requires all three:
P large for rod–sphere, small for sphere–sphere and rod–rod
P(σ) non-monotonic with clear maximum at σ*
Sharp knee as n or V crosses critical point
If rod–sphere does not produce a reproducible (geometry-selective) + (SR optimum) + (threshold onset) fingerprint and survive the swap test, then Framework C has no experimental leg in this channel.
Both experiments are falsifiable. If the Bath exists, we will see its signature. If it doesn't, we will know.
What would the Bath actually look like at a microscopic level?
EXPLORE THE MICROSCOPIC BATH →Standard GR + Electrodynamics predicts a spinning magnetic dipole loses energy via radiation. The braking index should be n ≥ 3. Real data consistently shows n < 3.
The Bath predicts vacuum friction: a drag torque proportional to angular velocity (τ ∝ -Ω), yielding n = 1.
The observed n is a weighted average. PSR J1734-3333 with n ≈ 0.9 is dominated by Bath friction — exactly what the framework predicts.
Astrophysical data shows anomalous drag pulling n below 3, consistent with an n ≈ 1 friction term. The laboratory experiments isolate this term in a controlled setting.
"The idea becomes a machine that makes the art."
— Sol LeWitt, 1967
These experimental protocols are presented as instructions — recipes that others can execute. The idea is the machine. The execution is the test. In the spirit of LeWitt's Wall Drawings: the plan is the work.