The authors of the flawed preprint used at least two (but related) invalid arguments in their attempts to resuscitate Erik Verlinde’s theory. One of them was the claim that Verlinde’s theory produces the “right classical limit”. When this classical limit is quantized, one obtains the right quantum theory, including the neutron interference. However, this argument incorrectly assumes that quantum physics is uniquely determined by a classical limit. It’s not. If you take the classical limit C of a quantum theory Q and “quantize” C again, you don’t necessarily get Q.

In particular, when we talk about the distance-dependent entropy, it’s a feature of a physical theory that holds both in the quantum theory Q and in the classical limit C. And in the quantum theory, it automatically destroys the interference patterns because there exists no one-to-one way how to link microstates at different separations (because their numbers differ). So there can’t exist any quantum theory that preserves the interference but that still produces a classical limit with a distance-dependent entropy.

— Once more: gravity is not an entropic force

— Lubos Motl

2012.12.25 Tuesday ACHK