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arXiv:1708.06711

The locality of quantum subsystems II: A 'local sum-over-paths' ontology for quantum subsystems

Adam Brownstein

Published Aug 22, 2017• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Subsystems of entangled quantum systems are not traditionally described in a local way. This paper begins to address the issue by constructing an explicit local hidden variable theory for quantum subsystems. The interpretation is based on a modified sum-over-paths approach, where the paths of the subsystem obtain information about the external system during interactions. The interpretation utilizes the conception that there is a dissociation between the tensor product structure of wavefunctions and information flow into quantum subsystems.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1708.06711

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Subsystems of entangled quantum systems are not traditionally described in a local way. This paper begins to address the issue by constructing an explicit local hidden variable theory for quantum subsystems. The interpretation is based on a modified sum-over-paths approach, where the paths of the subsystem obtain information about the external system during interactions. The interpretation utilizes the conception that there is a dissociation between the tensor product structure of wavefunctions and information flow into quantum subsystems.
Many of the contemporary formulations of quantum mechanics describe the marginal probability distributions of entangled many-body systems in a non-local way. Unlike the non-locality of joint distributions, the non-locality of marginal distributions is not forced by theory or experiment. This paper investigates the issue in the context of the Copenhagen, de Broglie-Bohm and sum-over-paths interpretations. A dissociation between information flow into quantum subsystems and the tensor product structure of wavefunctions is highlighted in connection to the problem.
In quantum information theory, standard notions typically presuppose a fixed partition of the world into subsystems, encoded in a tensor product structure of the Hilbert space. Yet, in some scenarios, the subsystem structure is not uniquely fixed. A case in point is the description of subsystems relative to different quantum reference frames (QRFs), where the tensor product structure, although fixed in a specific QRF, changes across different QRFs. Such a relativity of subsystems underlies many interesting features of QRFs, such as the relativity of entanglement, entropy, and coherence. It also raises a broader question: how do we compare the information across different subsystem perspectives, especially when the corresponding subsystem algebras overlap? Here, we propose a notion of quantum mutual information across different QRF perspectives, which captures the correlations between subsystems relative to different frames of reference. To do so, we focus on an algebraic definition of subsystems. Studying in detail the union and overlap between subsystem algebras relative to different QRFs, we find that the usual definition of mutual information in terms of the chain law overcounts the information associated to the overlap. Based on this insight, we propose a modified chain law and show that the resulting notion of mutual information satisfies subadditivity and connects naturally to other measures found in the literature [1]. Our investigations not only provide a way to quantify the relation between different QRF perspectives from an information-theoretic point of view but also sheds light on some important features of quantum information in absence of a fixed tensor product structure.
One of the key mysteries of quantum mechanics is the apparent faster-than-light communication between entangled particles. This was one of the qualms highlighted by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen in their famous EPR paper. Here, the locality of quantum systems and quantum mechanics is analyzed with reference to the phenomena of quantum teleportation. It is found that while information appears as though it is propagating nonlocally, in reality it can be explained using a local theory. The ideas of a nonlocal correlation and nonlocal information must be separated. Particularly, the concept of locally hidden or inaccessible information within subsystems of a wider quantum system is explained. Furthermore, it is shown that while some hidden-variable theories are proposed, they are not experimentally conclusive and do not provide a complete or better explanation of quantum mechanics.
Quantum information has become a powerful tool for probing the structure of quantum field theories, yet its application to gauge theories remains subtle. On the one hand, quantum information theory assumes subsystem locality, i.e.~the factorization of the total Hilbert space into subsystems. On the other hand, gauge constraints prevent the total Hilbert space to decompose into a spacetime-local tensor product structure. Because the Hilbert space structure of gauge theories does not accommodate the subsystem decomposition used in quantum information theory, standard information-theoretic results, such as the Local Operations and Classical Communication (LOCC) theorem, cannot be used straightforwardly in the context of gauge theories. In this work, we bridge this gap in the case of a two-dimensional lattice gauge model that captures key features of electromagnetism. In particular, we construct gauge-invariant local algebras and derive a physically meaningful decomposition of the Hilbert space, providing an operationally consistent notion of locality in the absence of a local tensor-product structure. We apply this framework to field-mediated entanglement protocols relevant to proposed tests of the quantum nature of gravity. We show that the discretized version of electromagnetism satisfies an analogue of the LOCC theorem: entanglement cannot be generated without genuine quantum field interactions, even in the absence of a spacetime-local tensor product factorization of the Hilbert space. This may point towards an operational way to define a subsystem structure for gauge theories.