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Temperature Changes the Number of Dimensions in Quantum Systems ⚡ экспресс

Original: "Systems with Quantum Dimensions"
The number of spatial dimensions isn't a constant—it's a quantum property that depends on temperature.
Abstract

Imagine that the number of dimensions (length, width, height) isn’t fixed but changes depending on the quantum state. Like a room that’s flat one moment and three-dimensional the next. Scientists have shown that such “quantum dimensionality” can emerge in simple systems and even depend on temperature. This opens the door to new theories of gravity and materials. Could the very fabric of space be quantum?

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Usually, we think of the number of dimensions as fixed: length, width, height. But in the quantum world, even that can be changeable. A new theory describes systems where dimension isn't a constant but a quantum property, capable of being different simultaneously.

A balloon is flat when cold, round when warm. The quantum 'balloon' exists in both forms at once, and the average geometry depends on temperature. Calculations confirm: at low energies, the system behaves as two-dimensional, and at high energies, as three-dimensional. That's how three dimensions became entrenched in our world—they're more energy-favorable.

This upends our understanding of spacetime near black holes, where dimensions may change their dimensionality. In other words, geometry itself joins the quantum dance, linking order and entropy with temperature. Even in empty space, dimensions 'flicker,' fluctuating between different values.

🎯 Even empty space at the quantum level isn't empty—it seethes with virtual particles. Now the very number of dimensions may join this dance.

🎬 Like the TARDIS from Doctor Who, which is bigger on the inside, this theory toys with the idea that dimensions can be mutable.

Scientists
Stephen HawkingJacob BekensteinAlbert EinsteinFritz ZwickyVera RubinBernhard Riemann
Tags
spacetime curvature black hole entropy
Laws
second law of thermodynamicsHawking radiationgravitational lensingBekenstein-Hawking entropyEinstein field equationsBoltzmann distribution
Original: arXiv:2511.14547 · CC BY 4.0 · bridge42worlds