The quantum decision theory introduced recently is formulated as a quantum theory of measurement. It describes prospect states represented by complex vectors of a Hilbert space over a prospect lattice. The prospect operators, acting in this space, form an involutive bijective algebra. A measure is defined for quantifying the entanglement produced by the action of prospect operators. This measure characterizes the level of complexity of prospects involved in decision making. An explicit expression is found for the maximal entanglement produced by the operators of multimode prospects.
The quantum decision theory introduced recently is formulated as a quantum theory of measurement. It describes prospect states represented by complex vectors of a Hilbert space over a prospect lattice. The prospect operators, acting in this space, form an involutive bijective algebra. A measure is defined for quantifying the entanglement produced by the action of prospect operators. This measure characterizes the level of complexity of prospects involved in decision making. An explicit expression is found for the maximal entanglement produced by the operators of multimode prospects.
A survey is given summarizing the state of the art of describing information processing in Quantum Decision Theory, which has been recently advanced as a novel variant of decision making, based on the mathematical theory of separable Hilbert spaces. This mathematical structure captures the effect of superposition of composite prospects, including many incorporated intended actions. The theory characterizes entangled decision making, non-commutativity of subsequent decisions, and intention interference. The self-consistent procedure of decision making, in the frame of the quantum decision theory, takes into account both the available objective information as well as subjective contextual effects. This quantum approach avoids any paradox typical of classical decision theory. Conditional maximization of entropy, equivalent to the minimization of an information functional, makes it possible to connect the quantum and classical decision theories, showing that the latter is the limit of the former under vanishing interference terms.
A survey is given summarizing the state of the art of describing information processing in Quantum Decision Theory, which has been recently advanced as a novel variant of decision making, based on the mathematical theory of separable Hilbert spaces. This mathematical structure captures the effect of superposition of composite prospects, including many incorporated intended actions. The theory characterizes entangled decision making, non-commutativity of subsequent decisions, and intention interference. The self-consistent procedure of decision making, in the frame of the quantum decision theory, takes into account both the available objective information as well as subjective contextual effects. This quantum approach avoids any paradox typical of classical decision theory. Conditional maximization of entropy, equivalent to the minimization of an information functional, makes it possible to connect the quantum and classical decision theories, showing that the latter is the limit of the former under vanishing interference terms.
We show that the correct mathematical foundation of quantum decision theory, dealing with uncertain events, requires the use of positive operator-valued measure that is a generalization of the projection-valued measure. The latter is appropriate for operationally testable events, while the former is necessary for characterizing operationally uncertain events. In decision making, one has to distinguish composite non-entangled events from composite entangled events. The mathematical definition of entangled prospects is based on the theory of Hilbert-Schmidt spaces and is analogous to the definition of entangled statistical operators in quantum information theory. We demonstrate that the necessary condition for the appearance of an interference term in the quantum probability is the occurrence of entangled prospects and the existence of an entangled strategic state of a decision maker. The origin of uncertainties in standard lotteries is explained.
Abstract In the problem of entanglement there exist two different notions. One is the entanglement of a quantum state, characterizing the state structure. The other is entanglement production by quantum operators, describing the action of operators in the given Hilbert space. Entanglement production by statistical operators, or density operators, is an important notion arising in quantum measurements and quantum information processing. The operational meaning of the entangling power of any operator, including statistical operators, is the property of the operators to entangle wave functions of the Hilbert space they are defined on. The measure of entanglement production by statistical operators is described and illustrated by entangled quantum states, equilibrium Gibbs states, as well as by the state of a complex multiparticle spinor system. It is shown that this measure is in intimate relation to other notions of quantum information theory, such as the purity of quantum states, linear entropy, or impurity, inverse participation ratio, quadratic Rényi entropy, the correlation function of composite measurements, and decoherence phenomenon. This measure can be introduced for a set of statistical operators characterizing a system after quantum measurements. The explicit value of the measure depends on the type of the Hilbert space partitioning. For a general multiparticle spinor system, it is possible to accomplish the particle-particle partitioning or spin-spatial partitioning. Conditions are defined showing when entanglement production is maximal and when it is zero. The study on entanglement production by statistical operators is important because, depending on whether such an operator is entangling or not, it generates qualitatively different probability measures, which is principal for quantum measurements and quantum information processing.
Following the ideas of Bohr, Von Neumann, and Benioff, we formulate quantum decision theory (QDT) as the quantum-mechanical theory of measurement for probability operators. QDT captures the effect of superposition of composite prospects, including many incorporated intentions. It is based on the hypothesis that the thought processes of real human beings involved in the definition and analysis of alternative prospects and scenarios do not necessarily separate them according to the recipes of standard probability theory and of classical utility theory. Our QDT formalizes systematically a broader class of decision making processes in which prospects can interact, interfere and remain entangled. The mathematical QDT is developed so as to be applicable to real-life decision making processes. We demonstrate that all known anomalies and paradoxes documented in the context of classical utility theory are reducible to just a few mathematical archetypes, all of which finding straightforward explanations in the framework of QDT. Interference terms, which are essential for resolving the paradoxes, quantify the aversion of human beings to uncertainty and/or to perceived potential loss resulting from their decisions.
We give a mathematical definition for the notion of inconclusive quantum measurements. In physics, such measurements occur at intermediate stages of a complex measurement procedure, with the final measurement result being operationally testable. Since the mathematical structure of Quantum Decision Theory has been developed in analogy with the theory of quantum measurements, the inconclusive quantum measurements correspond, in Quantum Decision Theory, to intermediate stages of decision making in the process of taking decisions under uncertainty. The general form of the quantum probability for a composite event is the sum of a utility factor, describing a rational evaluation of the considered prospect, and of an attraction factor, characterizing irrational, subconscious attitudes of the decision maker. Despite the involved irrationality, the probability of prospects can be evaluated. This is equivalent to the possibility of calculating quantum probabilities without specifying hidden variables. We formulate a general way of evaluation, based on the use of non-informative priors. As an example, we suggest the explanation of the decoy effect. Our quantitative predictions are in very good agreement with experimental data.