Wormholes Lose Their Links

Scientists investigated whether ordinary information, like a radio signal, could create a stable cosmic shortcut. This was compared to quantum entanglement – a spooky connection where two particles instantly share information regardless of distance – which is theorized to do so.

Previously, scientists suspected that quantum entanglement might be the secret ingredient that lets wormholes stay open and provide a bridge between separate parts of the universe. This idea is called ER=EPR conjecture (a complex theory linking wormholes and quantum entanglement).

To find out, researchers created a cosmic laboratory using a special model called AdS3/CFT2 (a theoretical framework that helps scientists study gravity using different kinds of physics). They used "multi-boundary wormholes" as their test subjects.

They set up two connected systems, like two speakers playing music, and then attached them to two "environments" or "heat baths," like two noisy rooms. This setup allowed energy to flow, creating decoherence (the process where a quantum system loses its special quantum properties and starts to act more like everyday objects).

The results showed that when energy flowed to the environments, the connection between the original two systems completely vanished. Both "quantum correlation" (the super-fast link between entangled particles) and "classical correlation" (like the signal from your TV remote) disappeared.

The "mutual information" between the original systems and their environments became as strong as possible, meaning all the shared information went into the noisy rooms. The "wormhole length" between the original systems shrank to nothing.

The study suggests that if a wormhole needs to be a stable bridge, it needs more than just regular communication. It points to a deeper truth about how the universe stitches itself together, hinting that the fabric of space-time itself might rely on the bizarre rules of quantum physics, not just the familiar laws of daily life.

The researchers note that their model assumed the systems had the same capacity for information. Future work will explore:

• If different capacities change the outcome.
• How closely classical links mimic quantum ones in certain scenarios.

It seems the universe's shortcuts prefer their connections to be truly out of this world.