© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

Terms Privacy Legal Notice

arXiv:1101.1077

Dagger Categories of Tame Relations

Bart Jacobs

Published Jan 5, 2011• 3 citations

Abstract

Within the context of an involutive monoidal category the notion of a comparison relation is identified. Instances are equality on sets, inequality on posets, orthogonality on orthomodular lattices, non-empty intersection on powersets, and inner product on vector or Hilbert spaces. Associated with a collection of such (symmetric) comparison relations a dagger category is defined with "tame" relations as morphisms. Examples include familiar categories in the foundations of quantum mechanics, such as sets with partial injections, or with locally bifinite relations, or with formal distributions between them, or Hilbert spaces with bounded (continuous) linear maps. Of one particular example of such a dagger category of tame relations, involving sets and bifinite multirelations between them, the categorical structure is investigated in some detail. It turns out to involve symmetric monoidal dagger structure, with biproducts, and dagger kernels. This category may form an appropriate universe for discrete quantum computations, just like Hilbert spaces form a universe for continuous computation.

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1101.1077

Related papers

Orthomodular lattices, Foulis Semigroups and Dagger Kernel Categories

Jacobs, BPF Bart

This paper is a sequel to [19] and continues the study of quantum logic via dagger kernel categories. It develops the relation between these categories and both orthomodular lattices and Foulis semigroups. The relation between the latter two notions has been uncovered in the 1960s. The current categorical perspective gives a broader context and reconstructs this relationship between orthomodular lattices and Foulis semigroups as special instance. 1

•Jan 1, 2009•18 citations

Orthomodular lattices, Foulis Semigroups and Dagger Kernel Categories

Bart Jacobs

This paper is a sequel to arXiv:0902.2355 and continues the study of quantum logic via dagger kernel categories. It develops the relation between these categories and both orthomodular lattices and Foulis semigroups. The relation between the latter two notions has been uncovered in the 1960s. The current categorical perspective gives a broader context and reconstructs this relationship between orthomodular lattices and Foulis semigroups as special instance.

arXiv:0912.0931•Logical Methods in Computer Science•Jun 18, 2010•10 citations

Orthomodular lattices, Foulis Semigroups and Dagger Kernel Categories

Bart Jacobs

This paper is a sequel to arXiv:0902.2355 and continues the study of quantum logic via dagger kernel categories. It develops the relation between these categories and both orthomodular lattices and Foulis semigroups. The relation between the latter two notions has been uncovered in the 1960s. The current categorical perspective gives a broader context and reconstructs this relationship between orthomodular lattices and Foulis semigroups as special instance.

arXiv:0905.4090•May 25, 2009•0 citations

Complementarity in Categorical Quantum Mechanics

Chris Heunen

We relate notions of complementarity in three layers of quantum mechanics: (i) von Neumann algebras, (ii) Hilbert spaces, and (iii) orthomodular lattices. Taking a more general categorical perspective of which the above are instances, we consider dagger monoidal kernel categories for (ii), so that (i) become (sub)endohomsets and (iii) become subobject lattices. By developing a ‘point-free’ definition of copyability we link (i) commutative von Neumann subalgebras, (ii) classical structures, and (iii) Boolean subalgebras.

•Jan 1, 2009•8 citations

Toy Quantum Categories (Extended Abstract)

Bob Coecke, Bill Edwards

We show that Rob Spekken's toy quantum theory arises as an instance of our categorical approach to quantum axiomatics, as a (proper) subcategory of the dagger compact category FRel of finite sets and relations with the cartesian product as tensor, where observables correspond to dagger Frobenius algebras. This in particular implies that the quantum-like properties of the toy model are in fact very general categorytheoretic properties. We also show the remarkable fact that we can already interpret complementary quantum observables on the two-element set in FRel. Keywords: Quantum category, dagger symmetric monoidal category, finite dimensional Hilbert spaces, FdHilb, FRel

Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science•Feb 1, 2011•25 citations

Categorical Semantics for Quantum Vector Spaces

PAULO SÉRGIO DE ANDRADE

This paper explores the application of category theory to provide a semantic framework for quantum vector spaces, which are fundamental to quantum mechanics and quantum information. We move beyond the traditional algebraic and analytical descriptions of Hilbert spaces to adopt a more abstract, compositional, and graphical approach rooted in monoidal categories. This categorical perspective allows for a unified understanding of quantum phenomena, including superposition, entanglement, and measurement, by representing quantum systems as objects and processes as morphisms. We delve into the concept of compact closed categories and dagger symmetric monoidal categories as the appropriate mathematical structures to capture the essential features of quantum theory, such as duality, adjoints, and the tensor product for composite systems. Furthermore, the paper discusses how graphical calculi, arising from these categorical structures, offer an intuitive and rigorous method for reasoning about quantum protocols and computations, facilitating the design and verification of quantum algorithms. By providing a high-level, axiomatic framework, categorical semantics clarifies the foundational principles of quantum mechanics and opens new avenues for developing quantum programming languages and understanding the interplay between quantum information and computation.

•Nov 22, 2025•0 citations

Within the context of an involutive monoidal category the notion of a comparison relation is identified. Instances are equality on sets, inequality on posets, orthogonality on orthomodular lattices, non-empty intersection on powersets, and inner product on vector or Hilbert spaces. Associated with a collection of such (symmetric) comparison relations a dagger category is defined with "tame" relations as morphisms. Examples include familiar categories in the foundations of quantum mechanics, such as sets with partial injections, or with locally bifinite relations, or with formal distributions between them, or Hilbert spaces with bounded (continuous) linear maps. Of one particular example of such a dagger category of tame relations, involving sets and bifinite multirelations between them, the categorical structure is investigated in some detail. It turns out to involve symmetric monoidal dagger structure, with biproducts, and dagger kernels. This category may form an appropriate universe for discrete quantum computations, just like Hilbert spaces form a universe for continuous computation.

We relate notions of complementarity in three layers of quantum mechanics: (i) von Neumann algebras, (ii) Hilbert spaces, and (iii) orthomodular lattices. Taking a more general categorical perspective of which the above are instances, we consider dagger monoidal kernel categories for (ii), so that (i) become (sub)endohomsets and (iii) become subobject lattices. By developing a ‘point-free’ definition of copyability we link (i) commutative von Neumann subalgebras, (ii) classical structures, and (iii) Boolean subalgebras.

We show that Rob Spekken's toy quantum theory arises as an instance of our categorical approach to quantum axiomatics, as a (proper) subcategory of the dagger compact category FRel of finite sets and relations with the cartesian product as tensor, where observables correspond to dagger Frobenius algebras. This in particular implies that the quantum-like properties of the toy model are in fact very general categorytheoretic properties. We also show the remarkable fact that we can already interpret complementary quantum observables on the two-element set in FRel. Keywords: Quantum category, dagger symmetric monoidal category, finite dimensional Hilbert spaces, FdHilb, FRel

This paper explores the application of category theory to provide a semantic framework for quantum vector spaces, which are fundamental to quantum mechanics and quantum information. We move beyond the traditional algebraic and analytical descriptions of Hilbert spaces to adopt a more abstract, compositional, and graphical approach rooted in monoidal categories. This categorical perspective allows for a unified understanding of quantum phenomena, including superposition, entanglement, and measurement, by representing quantum systems as objects and processes as morphisms. We delve into the concept of compact closed categories and dagger symmetric monoidal categories as the appropriate mathematical structures to capture the essential features of quantum theory, such as duality, adjoints, and the tensor product for composite systems. Furthermore, the paper discusses how graphical calculi, arising from these categorical structures, offer an intuitive and rigorous method for reasoning about quantum protocols and computations, facilitating the design and verification of quantum algorithms. By providing a high-level, axiomatic framework, categorical semantics clarifies the foundational principles of quantum mechanics and opens new avenues for developing quantum programming languages and understanding the interplay between quantum information and computation.