The experience from Quantum Information has lead us to look at Quantum Theory (QT) and the whole Physics from a different angle. The information‐theoretical paradigm—It from Bit— prophesied by John Archibald Wheeler is relentlessly advancing. Recently it has been shown that QT is derivable from pure informational principles. The possibility that there is only QT at the foundations of Physics has been then considered, with space‐time, Relativity, quantization rules and Quantum Field Theory (QFT) emerging from a quantum‐information processing. The resulting theory is a discrete version of QFT with automatic relativistic invariance, and without fields, Hamiltonian, and quantization rules. In this paper I review some recent advances on these lines. In particular: i) How space‐time and relativistic covariance emerge from the quantum computation; ii) The derivation of the Dirac equation as free information flow, without imposing Lorentz covariance; iii) the information‐theoretical meaning of inertial mass and Planck constant; iv) An observable consequence of the theory: a mass‐dependent refraction index of vacuum. I will then conclude with two possible routes to Quantum Gravity.
The experience from Quantum Information has lead us to look at Quantum Theory (QT) and the whole Physics from a different angle. The information‐theoretical paradigm—It from Bit— prophesied by John Archibald Wheeler is relentlessly advancing. Recently it has been shown that QT is derivable from pure informational principles. The possibility that there is only QT at the foundations of Physics has been then considered, with space‐time, Relativity, quantization rules and Quantum Field Theory (QFT) emerging from a quantum‐information processing. The resulting theory is a discrete version of QFT with automatic relativistic invariance, and without fields, Hamiltonian, and quantization rules. In this paper I review some recent advances on these lines. In particular: i) How space‐time and relativistic covariance emerge from the quantum computation; ii) The derivation of the Dirac equation as free information flow, without imposing Lorentz covariance; iii) the information‐theoretical meaning of inertial mass and Planck constant; iv) An observable consequence of the theory: a mass‐dependent refraction index of vacuum. I will then conclude with two possible routes to Quantum Gravity.
The experience from Quantum Information of the last twenty years has lead theorists to look at Quantum Theory and the whole of Physics from a different angle. A new information-theoretic paradigm is emerging, long time ago prophesied by John Archibald Wheeler with his popular coinage 'It from bit'. Theoretical groups are now addressing the problem of deriving Quantum Theory from informational principles, and similar lines are investigated in new approaches to Quantum Gravity. In my talk I will review some recent advances on these lines. The general idea synthesizing the new paradigm is that there is only Quantum Theory (without quantization rules): the whole Physics--including space-time and relativity--is emergent from quantum-information processing. And, since Quantum Theory itself is made with purely informational principles, the whole Physics must be reformulated in information-theoretical terms. The review is divided into the following parts: (a) The informational axiomatization of Quantum Theory; (b) How space-time and relativistic covariance emerge from the quantum computation; (c) What is the information-theoretical meaning of inertial mass and Planck constant, and how the quantum field emerges; (d) Observational consequences: mass-dependent refraction index of vacuum. I then conclude with some possible future research lines.
I review some recent advances in foundational research at Pavia QUIT group. The general idea is that there is only Quantum Theory without quantization rules, and the whole Physics---including space-time and relativity--is emergent from the quantum-information processing. And since Quantum Theory itself is axiomatized solely on informational principles, the whole Physics must be reformulated in information-theoretical terms: this is the "It from Bit of J. A. Wheeler. The review is divided into four parts: a) the informational axiomatization of Quantum Theory; b) how space-time and relativistic covariance emerge from quantum computation; c) what is the information-theoretical meaning of inertial mass and of ℏ, and how the quantum field emerges; d) an observational consequence of the new quantum field theory: a mass-dependent refraction index of vacuum. I will conclude with the research lines that will follow in the immediate future.
“Despite almost a century’s worth of study, it is still unclear how general relativity (GR) and quantum theory (QT) should be unified into a consistent theory. The conventional approach is to retain the foundational principles of QT, such as the superposition principle, and modify GR. This is referred to as ‘quantizing gravity’, resulting in a theory of ‘quantum gravity’. The opposite approach is ‘gravitizing QT’ where we attempt to keep the principles of GR, such as the equivalence principle, and consider how this leads to modifications of QT. What we are most lacking in understanding which route to take, if either, is experimental guidance. Here we consider using the Dirac–Pauli representation of free Dirac equation to search for the clues. In particular, we study how the double-slit diffraction experiment, when only one Dirac particle (‘say’ electron) at a time is in the apparatus, could test a gravitizing QT proposal in which the wavefunction collapse emerges on the detector screen from the Dirac–Pauli representation, as an objective process, resolving the measurement problem of QT.” [1] We found that the Dirac–Pauli representation is inherently a unified theory embodying a gravitizing QT proposal that Dirac–Pauli representation as wave nature is manifestation of inertial mass and the Foldy-Wouthuysen representation as particle nature is manifestation of gravitational mass such that the fact, that same physics is involved in these two representations, is simply the validity and exhibition of the principle of equivalence, of GR, in QT. [1] Richard Howl et al 2019 New J. Phys. 21 043047 DOI 10.1088/1367-2630/ab104a
Proposed quantum experiments in deep space will be able to explore quantum information issues in regimes where relativistic effects are important. In this essay, we argue that a proper extension of quantum information theory into the relativistic domain requires the expression of all informational notions in terms of quantum field theoretic (QFT) concepts. This task requires a working and practicable theory of QFT measurements. We present the foundational problems in constructing such a theory, especially in relation to longstanding causality and locality issues in the foundations of QFT. Finally, we present the ongoing Quantum Temporal Probabilities program for constructing a measurement theory that (i) works, in principle, for any QFT, (ii) allows for a first- principles investigation of all relevant issues of causality and locality, and (iii) it can be directly applied to experiments of current interest.
After reviewing recently suggested operational "principles of the quantumness", I address the problem on whether Quantum Theory (QT) and Special Relativity (SR) are unrelated theories, or instead, if the one implies the other. I show how SR can be indeed derived from causality of QT, within the computational paradigm "the universe is a huge quantum computer", reformulating QFT as a Quantum-Computational Field Theory (QCFT). In QCFT SR emerges from the fabric of the computational network, which also naturally embeds gauge invariance. In this scheme even the quantization rule and the Planck constant can in principle be derived as emergent from the underlying causal tapestry of space-time. In this way QT remains the only theory operating the huge computer of the universe. Is QCFT only a speculative tautology (theory as simulation of reality), or does it have a scientific value? The answer will come from Occam's razor, depending on the mathematical simplicity of QCFT. Here I will just start scratching the surface of QCFT, analyzing simple field theories, including Dirac's. The number of problems and unmotivated recipes that plague QFT strongly motivates us to undertake the QCFT project, since QCFT makes all such problems manifest, and forces a re-foundation of QFT.
Quantum information has dramatically changed information science and technology, looking at the quantum nature of the information carrier as a resource for building new information protocols, designing radically new communication and computation algorithms, and ultra-sensitive measurements in metrology, with a wealth of applications. From a fundamental perspective, this new discipline has led us to regard quantum theory itself as a special theory of information, and has opened routes for exploring solutions to the tension with general relativity, based, for example, on the holographic principle, on non-causal variations of the theory, or else on the powerful algorithm of the quantum cellular automaton, which has revealed new routes for exploring quantum fields theory, both as a new microscopic mechanism on the fundamental side, and as a tool for efficient physical quantum simulations for practical purposes. In this golden age of foundations, an astonishing number of new ideas, frameworks, and results, spawned by the quantum information theory experience, have revolutionized the way we think about the subject, with a new research community emerging worldwide, including scientists from computer science and mathematics.