New preprint submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity:
GR is time-symmetric. That symmetry is the root of singularities, information loss, and the arrow of time.
We propose the opposite: irreversibility is fundamental.
Main result: gravitational collapse halts before any trapped surface forms. C_max < 1. No quantum gravity needed.
Entropic IâField Theory: Fundamental Irreversibility and the Resolution of Singularities, Information Loss, and the Arrow of Time
General relativity is time-symmetric. This symmetry is the root of its three deepest puzzles: singularities, information loss, and the arrow of time. All existing approaches treat irreversibility as emergent â a statistical mirage atop a reversible microreality. We propose the opposite. Irreversibility is fundamental. It is encoded in a classical scalar field $I$ â the I-field â that couples universally to gravity and matter. Its dynamics are governed by an Euler-Lagrange-Rayleigh action, where a dissipation term $\gamma u^\mu \nabla_\mu I$ breaks time-reversal symmetry at the level of the field equation. The modified Einstein equations introduce a dimensionless stabilization index $\eta$ that quantifies I-field backreaction. The consequences are direct: - Gravitational collapse halts at a finite critical density $\rho_c$, before a trapped surface can form. The maximal compactness satisfies $\mathcal{C}_{\max} < 1$. - No event horizon ever appears â information remains causally accessible throughout the evolution. - The arrow of time emerges from the field dynamics, not from boundary conditions or statistical postulates. Three foundational problems are thus resolved within a single classical framework, from first principles, without invoking quantum gravity.
