Interference and Collapse as Informational Geodesic Dynamics: A Variational Approach to the Wave–Particle Transition in the Double-Slit Experiment

We present a theoretical framework in which the interference pattern of the double-slit experiment emerges from a variational principle defined on an informational manifold rather than from postulated wave–particle duality. Within the Viscous Time Theory (VTT) framework, physical systems are described by identity-preserving trajectories that minimize an informational latency functional. The competition between two permissible trajectories under finite latency produces a coherent term analogous to an interference phase, without assuming a physical wave or pre-existing superposition. The resulting probability distribution reduces to the standard double-slit formula in the limit of uniform latency and recovers the disappearance of interference under which-way detection as a breakdown of coherent identity. The model introduces a gradient of informational awareness that predicts a localized collapse event associated with a tensor activation reflecting the transition to a single-path regime. We propose an experimental protocol combining single-photon interference with EEG recordings to test whether early variations in the awareness gradient correlate with the collapse of coherence. We further report a model-based validation using a synchronized double-slit and EEG-inspired signal protocol, in which analytically constructed waveforms—consistent with published spectral properties—are used to illustrate threshold-driven collapse behavior, finite-time collapse dynamics, and improved predictive performance of the VTT model compared to standard decoherence-based descriptions. The framework thus provides a testable and experimentally supported informational interpretation of quantum interference, suggesting that wave–particle transitions correspond to a reorganization of identity in viscous informational time rather than a change in physical ontology.