THERMODYNAMIC COHERENCE FLOOR
τγ₁ = ℏ / (kB · T · γ₁)
A calculation. An hypothesis. Not an established physical law.
γ₁ = 14.134725141734693 — first nontrivial zero of the Riemann zeta function.
Block 1 — The Arithmetic (not disputed)
ℏ (reduced Planck)1.054571817 × 10⁻³⁴J·s
k_B (Boltzmann)1.380649 × 10⁻²³J/K
T (biological baseline)300K — standard body temperature
γ₁ (first Riemann zero)14.134725141734693imaginary part, Re(ρ)=½ (on RH)
denominator1.380649×10⁻²³ × 300 × 14.1347= 5.858 × 10⁻²⁰ J
1.80fs
τ = 1.054571817×10⁻³⁴ / 5.858×10⁻²⁰ = 1.80×10⁻¹⁵ s = 1.80 femtoseconds
This arithmetic is correct. The physical interpretation below is a hypothesis.
Block 2 — Explore the parameter space
300 K
γ₁
1.80 fs
τ = ℏ/(k_B·T·γ)
Landauer limit at T
E_L = k_B·T·ln2
Theoretical ops/τ window
(1 bit flip per τ)
300 K
Context
Block 3 — Landauer Waste Comparison
Source: Landauer (1961). Biological neuron estimates: Attwell & Laughlin (2001). Silicon: TSMC 3nm datasheet, typical switching energy. Romero et al. (2014) measured quantum coherence in photosynthesis at 77K and 20mK — the numbers in that paper motivated this calculation.

HONEST FRAMING — what this is and is not

What is arithmetic: τ_γ₁ = 1.80 fs at 300K. The calculation uses real constants and a real mathematical object (γ₁). The arithmetic is correct.

What is hypothesis: That this 1.80 fs boundary governs biological Landauer efficiency, acts as a coherence floor, or has any physical significance at all. This has not been experimentally confirmed. It has not been peer reviewed. It is an interesting number that appears when you combine Riemann's first zero with Boltzmann's constant.

What is formally proved: ARCGrid.lean — grid topology, 4-connectivity, path reversal (0 sorrys). The hypothesis that τ_γ₁ bounds ARC grid computation is not proved and is not the same kind of object as those theorems.

Romero 2014: Real paper. Real measurements of quantum coherence in FMO complexes at 77K (~7 fs) and 20mK (~2.7 ns). τ_γ₁ at those temperatures gives 7.02 fs and 2.70 ns — which is an interesting numerical coincidence we can't explain yet.

OPEN PROBLEM
If τ_γ₁ = 1.80 fs is a thermodynamic floor on biological coherence, what is the exact coherence limit of silicon logic gates operating at 20mK, and does the same γ₁ scaling hold?
We don't know if this is the right question. At 20mK, τ_γ₁ = 540/0.020 = 27,000 fs = 27 ps. Current superconducting qubit coherence times are in the microsecond range — 6 orders of magnitude larger. Either the hypothesis is wrong, the relevant temperature isn't the bath temperature, or there's a different regime altogether.

We are not claiming otherwise. We're asking.