A New Quantum Computing Architecture: Measurement as Geometric Collapse

Abstract

We present a new quantum computing architecture in which measurement is not a postulate but a derived operation — a geometric phase transition along a soft mode. The architecture replaces the standard circuit model's three primitives (unitaries, measurement, classical control) with a unified 7-stage generative loop. Unitary gates correspond to variational flow and coherence ascent. Measurement corresponds to collapse along a soft mode, with probabilities given by the Born rule derived from variance distributions. Classical control corresponds to invariant update and loop nesting. The architecture provides a mechanistic origin for ħ_eff, a geometric interpretation of error correction as coherence maintenance, and a unified framework for quantum computation, quantum foundations, and cognition. We illustrate the architecture with Grover's algorithm and discuss implications for measurement-based quantum computing and fault tolerance.

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