Spacetime is emergent, not fundamental
Space and time are not basic but arise from a deeper, possibly information- or entanglement-based structure; gravity is a thermodynamic/emergent phenomenon.
Evidence balance
Supporting
4- AdS/CFT holographic dualityw65
Juan Maldacena · 1998 · Peer-reviewed
AdS/CFT is the strongest concrete case for emergent spacetime.
- Black-hole entropy is proportional to areaw45
Jacob D. Bekenstein · 1973 · Peer-reviewed
Horizon thermodynamics suggests geometry has a statistical origin.
- Entropic / emergent gravityw30
Erik Verlinde · 2011 · Preprint
Entropic-gravity proposals model gravity as emergent.
- Hawking radiationw25
S. W. Hawking · 1975 · Peer-reviewed
Hawking radiation reinforces gravity's thermodynamic character.
Opposing
0None recorded.
Assumptions
The holographic principle generalizes beyond AdS
unjustified
Entanglement builds geometry
unjustified — Demonstrated only in toy models.
Open questions within this hypothesis
- What are the pre-geometric degrees of freedom?
- Does emergence hold for our (non-AdS) universe?
Falsification criteria
A confirmed quantum theory of gravity in which spacetime is irreducibly fundamental would falsify it.