Complex Time and Quantum Coherence: a reading of Wheeler's Delayed‑Choice Experiment (v4)

This has been prepared for submission. We propose an interpretation of Wheeler’s delayed-choice experiment basedon a model in which physical time is described by a complex variable T = t−iτ ,whose imaginary component evolves counter to real time. In this framework, theexperimental configuration (or an external field) imposes a geometric rotation ofthe complex time by an angle θ, thereby modifying quantum coherence throughthe dynamics of τ . We show that the late decision to open or close the interferometeracts on the imaginary component of time, and thus on the quantumphase, without requiring retrocausality. The presence or absence of interferencethen appears as a geometric consequence of this internal rotation rather thanas a paradox. This model therefore proposes a coherent geometric mechanismallowing one to interpret how a decision made after the photon has passed canstill influence its observed behaviour, and suggests the possibility of exploringexperimentally temporal correlations of visibility.