We present the elements of a new approach to the foundations of quantum theory and probability theory which is based on the algebraic approach to integration, information geometry, and maximum relative entropy methods. It enables us to deal with conceptual and mathematical problems of quantum theory without any appeal to frameworks of Hilbert spaces and measure spaces.
We present the elements of a new approach to the foundations of quantum theory and probability theory which is based on the algebraic approach to integration, information geometry, and maximum relative entropy methods. It enables us to deal with conceptual and mathematical problems of quantum theory without any appeal to frameworks of Hilbert spaces and measure spaces.
We discuss new approach to mathematical foundations of quantum theory, which is completely independent of Hilbert spaces and measure spaces. New kinematics is defined by nonlinear geometry of spaces of integrals on abstract non-commutative algebras. New dynamics is defined by constrained maximisation of quantum relative entropy. We recover Hilbert space based approach (including unitary evolution and the von Neumann-Lüders rule) and measure theoretic approach to probability theory (including Bayes' rule) as special cases of our approach.
This thesis concerns the foundations of inference – probability theory,entropic inference, information geometry, etc. – and its application to the Entropic Dynamics (ED) approach to Quantum Mechanics (QM) [21, 22, 41, 53, 56–61, 150–153, 165, 195, 196, 268]. The first half of this thesis, chapters 2-6, concern the development of the inference framework. We begin in chapter 2 by discussing de- ductive inference, which involves formal logic and it’s role in access- ing the truth of propositions. We eventually discover that deductive inference is incomplete, in that it can’t address situations in which we have incomplete information. This necessitates a theory of inductive inference (probability theory), which is developed in chapter 3. Prob- ability theory is derived as a framework for manipulating degrees of belief of propositions, in a way which is consistent with its deduc- tive counterpart [47]. In chapter 4 we review the construction of en- tropic inference as a means for updating our beliefs in the presence of new information. The entropy functional is designed through the pro- cess of eliminative induction by imposing a principle of minimal updating (PMU) and various constraints [47, 238, 242, 266, 267]. Chapter 5 con- siders the design of another entropic functional, the total correlation and all its variants, for the purposes of ranking join distributions with respect to their correlations [46]. Finally, in chapter 6, we discuss the application of a special case of the correlation functionals from chap- ter 5, the mutual information, to problems in experimental physics and machine learning [42–45]. The second half of this thesis, chapters 7-9, concerns the ED ap- proach to QM. In particular, chapters 8 and 9 involve the inclusion of particles with spin 1/2 into the framework [41, 61]. These devel- opments are the main contribution of this thesis to the body of work in the ED approach. The problem is defined as an application of in- ference to the dynamics of quantum particles which have definite yet unknown positions and follow continuous trajectories. Through the method of maximum entropy developed in chapter 4, we can deter- mine the transition probability that these particles will move from one location to another. Geometric algebra (GA) [90, 140] is chosen as the preferred representation for the algebra of spin, which is then introduced through constraints in the maximum entropy method. A quantum mechanics is subsequently developed by constructing an epistemic phase space of probabilities
The algebraic approach to physical theories provides a general framework encompassing both classical and quantum mechanics. Accordingly, by looking at the behaviour of the relevant algebras of observables one can investigate structural and conceptual differences between the theories. Interesting foundational questions can be formulated algebraically and their answers are then given in a mathematically compelling way. My dissertation focuses on some philosophical issues concerning entanglement and quantum information as they arise in the algebraic. These two concepts are connected in that one can exploit the non-local character of quantum theory to construct protocols of information theory which are not realized in the classical world. I first introduce the basic concepts of the algebraic formalism, by reviewing von Neumann's work on the mathematical foundations of quantum theories. After presenting the reasons why von Neumann abandoned the standard Hilbert space formulation in favour of the algebraic approach, I show how his axiomatic program remained a mathematical "utopia" in mathematical physics. The Bayesian interpretation of quantum mechanics is grounded in information-theoretical considerations. I take on some specific problems concerning the extension of Bayesian statistical inference in infinite dimensional Hilbert space. I demonstrate that the failure of a stability condition, formulated as a rationality constraint for classical Bayesian conditional probabilities, does not undermine the Bayesian interpretation of quantum probabilities. I then provide a solution to the problem of Bayesian noncommutative statistical inference in general probability spaces. Furthermore, I propose a derivation of the a priori probability state in quantum mechanics from symmetry considerations. Finally, Algebraic Quantum Field Theory offers a rigorous axiomatization of quantum field theory, namely the synthesis of quantum mechanics and special relativity. In such a framework one can raise the question of whether or not quantum correlations are made stronger by adding relativistic constraints. I argue that entanglement is more robust in the relativistic context than in ordinary quantum theory. In particular, I show how to generalize the claim that entanglement across space-like separated regions of Minkowski spacetime would persist, no matter how one acts locally.
Abstract Quantum information science is a new and rapidly developing discipline that studies the general laws governing the transmission, storage, and processing of information in systems that obey the laws of quantum mechanics. It makes extensive use of matrix theory and operator theory on Hilbert spaces to investigate the capabilities of such systems and to develop principles for their rational design. An important consequence of the development of quantum information science is a substantial clarification of the logical structure and foundations of quantum mechanics and of its relation to reality. These lectures are devoted to the foundations of the mathematical theory of quantum systems: states, observables, communication channels, their entropic and information characteristics, and quantum information-processing protocols. The lectures provide a detailed introduction to the statistical structure of quantum theory and the necessary background from classical information theory; hence, knowledge of the basic mathematical subjects—analysis, linear algebra, and probability theory—is sufficient for understanding the material. In the first part of the course, we use the “standard” statistical model of a quantum system, but consider it in comparison with the classical statistical description. A consistent development of this approach leads to a generalized statistical model of quantum mechanics, in which observables (in general, “unsharp”) are described by probability operator-valued measures, while evolutions (in general, irreversible) are described by completely positive maps. Introductory material on these concepts, which underlie mathematical models of quantum information systems in the presence of noise and errors and have numerous applications in quantum information science, is presented in the second part of the course.
Recent developments in the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics have brought the theory closer to that of classical probability and statistics. On the other hand, the unique character of quantum physics sets many of the questions addressed apart from those met classically in stochastics. Furthermore, concurrent advances in experimental techniques and in the theory of quantum computation have led to a strong interest in questions of quantum information, in particular in the sense of the amount of information about unknown parameters in given observational data or accessible through various possible types of measurements. This scenery is outlined (with an audience of statisticians and probabilists in mind).