Santos 2026 Preprint Derives Stochastic Vacuum Field from Relativity-Quantum Synthesis

The preprint constructs a coherent ontological picture by treating quantum fields through the Weyl-Wigner transform, which converts operator algebras into phase-space functions. This move reveals an underlying stochastic electromagnetic vacuum whose fluctuations reproduce the statistics normally ascribed to virtual particles. Santos shows that photon-like detections emerge as threshold crossings in this continuous field rather than as discrete entities, directly tying the account to the equivalence principle that equates inertial and gravitational mass at every point.

Contextually the proposal extends Santos' long-standing stochastic electrodynamics program, which has sought local realistic accounts of Bell-violating correlations without nonlocality. It contrasts with standard QFT by eliminating the need for a Fock space of particle states yet stops short of addressing Fermi fields, leaving the electron and quark sectors without comparable wave interpretations. The approach therefore offers a partial but methodologically consistent bridge between the two pillars of modern physics.

Limitations include the absence of quantitative predictions for existing atom-interferometry data and only cursory treatment of spacetime singularities. A decisive test would require measuring higher-order correlation functions in the vacuum field that deviate from canonical QED at accessible energies. Such measurements could falsify or corroborate the stochastic picture within the next five years.