WAVE–PARTICLE DUALITY OF C60 MOLECULES

Abstract

The 1999 experiment reported by Markus Arndt, Olaf Nairz, Julian Vos-Andreae, Claudia Keller, Gerbrand van der Zouw, and Anton Zeilinger in Nature demonstrated de Broglie matter-wave interference for C60 fullerene molecules, extending experimen- tally observable quantum coherence to an object of unprecedented mass and internal complexity at the time (Arndt et al. 1999). This article develops a complete critical– propositional analysis of that experiment in systematic dialogue with the Theory of Objectivity (TO), as developed by Vidamor Cabannas and Denivaldo Silva. The analysis distinguishes three epistemological levels that must not be conflated: the experimentally established phenomenon of molecular interference; the physical interpretation supplied by quantum mechanics and decoherence theory; and the modal- ontological claims of the TO. This distinction is essential because empirical compatibility with a modal ontology is not equivalent to demonstration of modal necessity. The C60 experiment is especially relevant to the TO in four domains. First, a complex composed object behaves as a coherent quantum unit at the level of its center- of-mass propagation, providing a meaningful point of dialogue with the compositional structure associated with Absolute Truth 6 (VA6). Second, the diffraction grating is not merely a passive geometrical boundary: molecule–surface interactions modify the effective slit width, generating an empirically measurable interface between geometry and dynamics and providing a strong operational bridge to Absolute Truth 4 (VA4). Third, the preservation or destruction of interference depends on correlations between the molecule and its environment, thereby connecting physical distinguishability, infor- mation, and radiation. This creates the most significant point of contact with Absolute Truth 7 (VA7), under which the TO identifies its transcendent element with knowledge or information produced in atomic relations and regards such information as equivalent to atomic radiation. Fourth, the experiment offers possible operational analogues for the TO’s Inducing Effects, although these analogues must not be treated as established identities without independent derivation. The article also examines possible relations to VA1–VA7, the TO phenomenic elements, the Cosmogonic Theorem, and the cosmological Eras. It argues that the C60 experiment provides selective and indirect empirical corroboration for operational projections compatible with VA4, VA6, and VA7, but does not constitute confirmation of the TO as a complete ontology. Later experiments on thermal decoherence strengthen the radiation–information bridge by showing that photon emission can reduce molecular interference when it becomes capable of encoding spatial information (Hackermüller et al. 2004). In dialogue with Heisenberg, Einstein, Bohm, Joos and Zeh, Zurek, Aspect, Planck, LIGO/Virgo, JWST observations, and Petina’s taxonomy of fundamental laws, the paper proposes a research program capable of converting qualitative TO correspondences into quantitative and potentially discriminatory predictions. The central methodological conclusion is that the scientific strength of the TO will not depend on retrospectively redescribing established quantum phenomena in its own vocabulary, but on deriving from its modal architecture measurable relations that either reproduce quantum theory from more fundamental principles or predict deviations in controlled regimes. Keywords: Theory of Objectivity; C60; fullerene; matter waves; wave–particle duality; quantum interference; decoherence; information; boundaries; radiation; modal ontology; empirical corroboration.