Why is Authentication in tests important in Laravel applications, and what problem does it solve for developers?

Why is Authentication in tests important in Laravel applications, and what problem does it solve for developers? The key reason to understand authentication in tests is that Laravel applications are usually composed of several layers that must work together predictably. Tests can act as a user to exercise protected application flows. Ignoring that boundary can lead to duplicated logic, poor security, unnecessary database work, or code that is difficult to test. Why it matters in practice: Feature tests exercise application behavior through realistic HTTP requests, authentication, validation, routes and database interactions. The specific focus here is authentication in tests: Tests can act as a user to exercise protected application flows. This question is designed to test not only terminology, but also how the concept fits into Laravel's request, application, database, security, or deployment workflow.