Worldline-Coherence as Fundamental Energy: Unifying Quantum Superposition, Optical Coherence, and Electrical Conduction

This manuscript is current in Official Peer Review. Not final version.Copyright©2026 Alex De Giuseppe.All rights reserved. This work is protected by copyright. Any form of plagiarism, unauthorized reproduction, or misappropriation of ideas, mathematically results, or text without proper citation constitutes a violation of academic and intellectual property standards and common laws. No commercial use, adaptation, or derivative works are permitted without explicit written permission from the author. For correspondence, citations, collaboration inquiries, or feedback please contact:[e-mail] The hash files that determine ownership have been created Title:“Worldline-Coherence as Fundamental Energy: Unifying Quantum Superposition, Optical Coherence, and Electrical Conduction” Abstract / Description:We propose a unified theoretical framework in which the fundamental energy of a physical system is identified with its intrinsic quantum coherence, expressed as the superposition of worldlines. In this view, quantum superposition, optical coherence, and electrical conduction are manifestations of a single underlying phenomenon: the ability of a system to maintain coherent, globally admissible configurations over spacetime. Specifically: Quantum superposition corresponds to multiple worldlines coexisting in a coherent configuration, giving rise to measurable interference and entanglement phenomena. Optical coherence emerges naturally from these coherent configurations, providing a link between microscopic quantum states and macroscopic light-matter interactions. Electrical conduction arises from the collective alignment of dipoles (or charge carriers) in a coherent configuration, with current being proportional to the rate of change of polarization. We introduce the concept of configurational emergence time ((\tau_C)), representing the minimal temporal scale necessary for a global configuration to become operationally selectable as a single entity. A universal constant, termed the De Giuseppe constant ((K_D)), relates accessible energy and the minimal action required for coherent emergence. Our framework predicts: A direct correlation between macroscopic coherence, optical phase preservation, and electrical conductivity. Temperature-dependent decoherence, explaining the reduction of conductivity and coherence at higher thermal energies. Observable signatures in experiments involving single-photon reflection, interferometry, and entanglement, providing falsifiable tests of the theory. This approach offers a novel perspective on zero-point energy: rather than being a static or abstract background quantity, zero-point energy corresponds to the system’s minimal coherent configuration energy, i.e., the energy inherent in maximal quantum coherence. By unifying quantum mechanics, optics, and condensed-matter phenomena, this framework provides a new operational understanding of fundamental energy and its manifestations across scales.