On Bonart's interpretation of the Square-Root Impact Law
This study investigates Bonart’s interpretation of the square-root impact law (SRIL), examining the consistency of its underlying assumptions with market microstructure mechanisms. Drawing on stochastic process theory and the Lillo-Mike-Farmer model, we reconstruct and simplify the original argumentation, developing a multi-agent propagator simulation to validate the market whitening hypothesis. Our results demonstrate that isolated meta-orders fail to satisfy the SRIL, and that markets require exceptionally high signal-processing efficiency to conform to this law. Furthermore, we propose falsifiable predictions based on flow hypotheses, revealing that diffusion paths necessitate a defined temporal origin to explain mean impact decay. By challenging the feasibility of anonymous trade attribution, this work offers novel perspectives for understanding market impact dynamics.