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arXiv:1503.06837 · Lecture notes in computer science

Generalized Quantum Theory, Contextual Emergence and Non-Hierarchic Alternatives

Hartmann Römer

Published Jan 1, 2016• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-28675-4_12

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We present a unified, autonomous formulation of quantum mechanics derived strictly from the foundational principles of Contextual Probability Theory. Instead of initiating the formalism via complex wave functions in Hilbert space, we postulate that the primary physical reality is a realvalued joint distribution 𝑃(𝑢, 𝑣, 𝑡)in a hybrid phase space. Here, the variable 𝑢 is explicitly defined as the structural property (index) characterizing a contextual whole (equivalence class), while 𝑣 represents the internal spectral alternative within that context. We mathematically demonstrate that the traditional Hilbert space architecture, complex amplitudes, and non-commuting operators are not primary postulates of nature, but rather emergent information-compensating artifacts that inevitably arise when the unified contextual flow is projected onto lower-dimensional subspaces.To demonstrate the universal validity of this mechanism, we deliberately restrict our current derivation to the foundational, one-dimensional case. Proving that the entire quantum apparatus emerges seamlessly within this prototype guarantees that the underlying principle can be directly generalized to higher dimensions and more complex contextual configurations.“
In order to better understand a complex theory like quantum mechanics, it is sometimes useful to take a step back and create alternative theories, with more intuitive foundations, and examine which features of quantum mechanics can be reproduced by such a foil theory. A prominent example is Spekkens' toy theory, which is based off a simple premise: "What if we took a common classical theory and added the uncertainty principle as a postulate?" In other words, the theory imposes an epistemic restriction on our knowledge about a physical system: only half of the variables can ever be known to an observer. Like good science fiction, from this simple principle a rich behaviour emerges, most notoriously when we compose several systems. The toy theory emulates some aspects of quantum non-locality, although crucially it is still a non-contextual model. In this pedagogical review we consolidate different approaches to Spekkens' toy theory, including the stabilizer formalism and the generalization to arbitrary dimensions, completing them with new results where necessary. In particular, we introduce a general characterization of measurements, superpositions and entanglement in the toy theory.