| name | non-hermitian-conscious-preconscious-subliminal |
| category | neuroscience |
| description | Non-Hermitian Potential Well Formalism for modeling conscious-preconscious-subliminal processing hierarchy. Uses nonlinear Schrödinger-type equations in imaginary time with non-Hermitian Hamiltonians to unify sensory encoding and conscious access. |
| trigger_words | non-Hermitian, conscious access, GNW, Global Neuronal Workspace, subliminal, preconscious, potential well, Schrödinger equation, Lotka-Volterra, consciousness modeling, sensory processing |
| version | 1.0 |
| created | 2026-07-12 |
| source | arXiv:2607.08302v1 |
| authors | Vasily Lubashevskiy, Ihor Lubashevsky |
Non-Hermitian Potential Well Formalism for Conscious--Preconscious--Subliminal Processing
Paper Info
- Title: A Non-Hermitian Potential Well Formalism for Conscious--Preconscious--Subliminal Processing
- arXiv: 2607.08302v1
- Date: 2026-07-09
- Category: q-bio.NC (Neuroscience), nlin.AO (Adaptation & Self-Organizing)
- Authors: Vasily Lubashevskiy, Ihor Lubashevsky
Core Contributions
1. Unified GNW Dynamical Framework
Proposes a phenomenological model of the Global Neuronal Workspace (GNW) where:
- Early sensory processing generates an effective complex-valued landscape governing high-level stimulus representation dynamics
- This landscape provides a dynamical bridge between sensory encoding and conscious access
- Both processes described within a single unified mathematical framework
2. Mathematical Formalism
High-level representations are encoded as:
- Cloud function on a Hilbert space over perceptual state space
- Combines holistic mental image structure with neural implementation
- Dynamics governed by a nonlinear Schrödinger-type equation in imaginary time
The Hamiltonian has two key components:
- Non-Hermitian, non-normal Hamiltonian with nonlinear Lotka-Volterra-type term
- Hermitian part: Recognition via dissipative localization at GNW landscape minima
- Anti-Hermitian part: Information broadcasting via spatial spreading across state space
3. Subliminal-Preconscious-Conscious Hierarchy
The model reproduces the three-tier processing hierarchy:
- Subliminal: Below threshold — no bound state forms
- Preconscious: Partial activation — transient dynamics
- Conscious: Emergence of a bound state when BOTH:
- GNW landscape depth exceeds threshold
- Top-down attention degree exceeds threshold
4. Conscious Access as Bound State Emergence
- Conscious access = emergence of a bound state in the complex potential well
- Requires dual threshold crossing (landscape depth + attention)
- Provides quantitative criterion for conscious vs. unconscious processing
