Causal Interaction and the Limits of Observability

This paper develops an information-theoretic framework distinguishing causal interaction from observability. By defining observability in terms of mutual information between physical systems and observers, the work examines conditions under which systems may remain unobservable in principle despite participating in causal physical processes. Examples from cosmological horizons and quantum no-signaling are used to illustrate limits on epistemic accessibility embedded within established physical theories.

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-05-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20238028
Primary Topic
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Causal Interaction and the Limits of Observability

Jerome Q. Harris
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
article

Causal Interaction and the Limits of Observability

Jerome Q. Harris
article en

Abstract

This paper develops an information-theoretic framework distinguishing causal interaction from observability. By defining observability in terms of mutual information between physical systems and observers, the work examines conditions under which systems may remain unobservable in principle despite participating in causal physical processes. Examples from cosmological horizons and quantum no-signaling are used to illustrate limits on epistemic accessibility embedded within established physical theories.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
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Causal Interaction and the Limits of Observability — Jerome Q. Harris · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS