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arXiv · 2603.25552

When identical particles cease to be indistinguishable: violation of statistics in quantum spacetime

Nicola Bortolotti·Catalina Curceanu·Antonino Marciano·Kristian Piscicchia
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Abstract

Quantum gravity may modify the fundamental symmetries that govern identical particles. In particular, noncommutative spacetime frameworks predict deformations of Bose and Fermi statistics. Here we develop a relativistic quantum field theory based on the most general oscillator algebra compatible with $\theta$-deformed Poincar\'e symmetry. This construction generalizes twisted statistics to a class of quon-like deformations allowing non-involutive particle exchange. We show that the resulting theory is consistent at both the free and interacting levels and derive its implications for atomic systems. Purely twisted statistics predicts Pauli-forbidden atomic transitions at rates incompatible with experiments. By contrast, a class of quon deformations suppresses such processes by powers of the noncommutativity scale, but only if superselection rules between permutation-symmetry sectors are violated. This implies an effective breakdown of particle indistinguishability and provides theoretical motivation for high-precision experimental tests of the Pauli exclusion principle.

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Nicola Bortolotti, Catalina Curceanu, Antonino Marciano, Kristian Piscicchia. 2026-03-26. When identical particles cease to be indistinguishable: violation of statistics in quantum spacetime. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.25552

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