Researchers Linked Quantum Information to Spacetime
New derivations provide a rigorous mathematical basis for the theory that gravity emerges from quantum states.
Updated on Oct. 12, 2026 in Quantum Computing
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Researchers have published a study in Physical Review Letters using quantum relative entropy to mathematically equate quantum information with spacetime geometry. This research-stage work provides a rigorous framework to support the concept that gravity may fundamentally arise from quantum information.
Why it matters
This development replaces heuristic, suggestive arguments with a formal mathematical foundation for the relationship between quantum mechanics and general relativity. It advances the theoretical effort to unite these two pillars of physics into a single coherent theory.
The researchers evaluated quantum relative entropy—a measure of the distinguishability between two quantum states—at a spacetime horizon to equate it with energy flow. These derived equations demonstrate the specific mechanism by which quantum matter curves spacetime.
The players
Leipzig University
A German research institution where the authors of the study are based.
Physical Review Letters
A peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes fundamental research across all fields of physics.
The details
The team reconstructed the thermodynamic derivation of general relativity using advanced mathematics to ground the relationship between information and geometry. By calculating quantum relative entropy—the degree to which two quantum states differ—at a spacetime horizon, they established a formal equivalence to energy flow. This method allows physicists to model how quantum matter influences the curvature of spacetime without relying on prior informal assumptions.
Timeline
Physicist Ted Jacobson derived Einstein's equations from thermodynamics in 1995.
Researchers published their findings in Physical Review Letters in October 2026.
The Tech Race
This work builds directly upon the 1995 derivation of Einstein's equations from thermodynamics by physicist Ted Jacobson. It marks a shift from suggestive conceptual models toward a mathematically rigorous verification of the link between information and gravity.
This is a fundamental research development that does not have immediate consumer or commercial applications. Its findings currently serve as a theoretical benchmark for physicists working to integrate quantum mechanics and gravity.
The takeaway
The research suggests gravity is an emergent property of quantum information rather than a fundamental force. Future study results will hinge on whether the team's equations successfully produce the Einstein field equations with quantum-corrected terms.
Further reading
For more on the intersection of fundamental physics and information theory, see Quantum Computing.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Tech Explorist.
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