Relational Emergence Model: A Generative Extension of Relational Quantum Mechanics

Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM) proposes that physical states exist only relative to other systems, but does not explain how such relational structures arise. This paper introduces the Relational Emergence Model (REM), which addresses this foundational gap by modeling the generation of relational structure as an explicit physical process.

The central contribution is the differentiation map 𝒟 — not a unitary operator, but a structural bipartition-selecting map that produces explicit system–observer correlations from a pre-relational Hilbert space (Layer 0). Environmental decoherence 𝓔 then acts as a CPTP map on the articulated structure, stabilizing effectively classical facts (Layer 2). This three-layer architecture (pre-relational potential → relational articulation → phenomenal stabilization) provides a mathematically structured account of how relational reality becomes determinate.

REM is compared with RQM, QBism, and Many-Worlds interpretations. Unlike these approaches, REM does not presuppose that relational structures are already formed — it models the generative phase that precedes perspectival consistency. The framework also provides a natural analysis of Wigner's Friend scenarios as multi-level differentiation processes.

A structural correspondence (not equivalence) with Buddhist concepts of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda) and emptiness (śūnyatā) is identified: Layer 0 corresponds to the absence of intrinsic nature prior to differentiation; Layer 1 corresponds to the arising of relational structure through differentiation events.

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This is Paper 1 of the 6-paper Relational Emergence Model (REM) series:

- REM1 (this paper) — Foundational framework: three-layer architecture and differentiation map
- REM2 — Selection principles for the differentiation map (variational formulation)
  https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19155166
- REM3 — Generative differentiation via variational selection on factorization manifold
  https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19157709
- REM4 — Competing informational and dynamical criteria for subsystem structure
  https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19637584
- REM5 — Variational selection of tensor-product structure in quantum systems
  https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19637651
- REM_lambda — Variational generation of relational structure (physical interpretation of λ)
  https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19641344