{"paper":{"title":"What does it mean to have a quantum gravitational theory of de Sitter Space?","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","headline":"If de Sitter space is a finite quantum system then all models of it are ambiguous","cross_cats":["gr-qc"],"primary_cat":"hep-th","authors_text":"Tom Banks","submitted_at":"2026-05-13T13:16:01Z","abstract_excerpt":"We argue that if de Sitter space is indeed represented by a finite dimensional quantum system, then semi-classical considerations, combined with the fundamental principles of quantum measurement theory, imply that any theoretical model of it is ambiguous. If our own universe asymptotes to such a de Sitter state, and if a model of it as a finite system can be embedded in a sequence of models that converges to a non-perturbative completion of a unique superstring model in asymptotically flat space, then one might be able to find a very precise mathematical model of our universe. However, even th"},"claims":{"count":4,"items":[{"kind":"strongest_claim","text":"if de Sitter space is indeed represented by a finite dimensional quantum system, then semi-classical considerations, combined with the fundamental principles of quantum measurement theory, imply that any theoretical model of it is ambiguous.","source":"verdict.strongest_claim","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C1","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"weakest_assumption","text":"That de Sitter space is represented by a finite dimensional quantum system and that our universe asymptotes to such a de Sitter state.","source":"verdict.weakest_assumption","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C2","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"one_line_summary","text":"De Sitter space modeled as a finite quantum system yields ambiguous theories, with local experiments accessing only a tiny fraction of its total information content.","source":"verdict.one_line_summary","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C3","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"headline","text":"If de Sitter space is a finite quantum system then all models of it are ambiguous","source":"verdict.pith_extraction.headline","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C4","attestation":"unclaimed"}],"snapshot_sha256":"94fd7b1d73b180e269aa9d8e36a41008e62c19474d06eb0cb22c62502e4e8ed4"},"source":{"id":"2605.13490","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":"1036cdf2-2764-4a2f-b6fd-1d5e8359bb5c","model_set":{"reader":"grok-4.3"},"created_at":"2026-05-14T18:26:02.106550Z","strongest_claim":"if de Sitter space is indeed represented by a finite dimensional quantum system, then semi-classical considerations, combined with the fundamental principles of quantum measurement theory, imply that any theoretical model of it is ambiguous.","one_line_summary":"De Sitter space modeled as a finite quantum system yields ambiguous theories, with local experiments accessing only a tiny fraction of its total information content.","pipeline_version":"pith-pipeline@v0.9.0","weakest_assumption":"That de Sitter space is represented by a finite dimensional quantum system and that our universe asymptotes to such a de Sitter state.","pith_extraction_headline":"If de Sitter space is a finite quantum system then all models of it are ambiguous"},"references":{"count":11,"sample":[{"doi":"10.1142/s0217751x01003998","year":2001,"title":"Banks, Cosmological breaking of supersymmetry?, Int","work_id":"b5d04d74-9b44-4747-a677-63834a50177c","ref_index":2,"cited_arxiv_id":"hep-th/0007146","is_internal_anchor":true},{"doi":"10.1088/1126-6708/2006/12/004","year":2006,"title":"Towards a quantum theory of de Sitter space","work_id":"2986c943-d830-4e73-a8b5-37cd613f6043","ref_index":3,"cited_arxiv_id":"hep-th/0609062","is_internal_anchor":true},{"doi":"10.1103/physrevlett.82.4971","year":1999,"title":"Effective field theory, black holes, and the cosmo- logical constant","work_id":"73a006cd-07e4-4bd8-96be-030880cfe87c","ref_index":4,"cited_arxiv_id":"hep-th/9803132","is_internal_anchor":true},{"doi":"10.1088/1126-6708/2002/12/062","year":2002,"title":"Recurrent nightmares? Measurement theory in de Sitter space,","work_id":"e00b63f0-369f-4155-8b86-4aa9441e4aa2","ref_index":5,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"10.1007/jhep12(2025)085","year":2025,"title":"JT de Sitter gravity as a model of Coleman-de Luccia tunneling,","work_id":"6e9be668-3e3e-4354-bb33-62e9816e2950","ref_index":6,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false}],"resolved_work":11,"snapshot_sha256":"5b02e63e1d5179b19a0471593bf4c5298cc24e62c7a57ae78966a6408ac96929","internal_anchors":5},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}