Theory of Spacetime Impedance: A Reactive Framework for the Electromagnetic, Gravitational, and Quantum Structure of the Vacuum

This work presents the Theory of Spacetime Impedance (TSI), a phenomenological framework in which the vacuum is modeled as a distributed reactive medium with an effective RLC structure. At the classical level, the vacuum is characterized by permeability, μ0, permittivity, ε0, and impedance, Z0, so that the speed of light follows from the vacuum’s constitutive reactive properties. The TSI introduces a reactive–dissipative term, RH, as an effective mechanism associated with irreversibility, decoherence, and entropy production, providing a physical basis for the arrow of time. At the quantum level, TSI incorporates a quantum RLC triad associated with the electron, defined by quantum inductance, LK, quantum capacitance, CK, and von Klitzing resistance, RK. When normalized by the Compton wavelength, these quantities admit a direct comparison with μ0 and ε0, identifying the fine-structure constant as an impedance scaling factor between classical and quantum regimes. Within this unified reactive picture, inductive, capacitive, and resistive responses are respectively associated with gravitation, electromagnetism, and thermodynamic irreversibility, offering a complementary bridge across quantum, relativistic, and macroscopic domains.