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arXiv:1803.04993 · Reviews of Modern Physics

APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research: Invited article on entanglement properties of quantum field theory

Edward Witten

Published Oct 23, 2018• 568 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The 2016 APS Medal for Excellence in Physics was given to Edward Witten. This contribution was invited in conjunction with this award. These original notes contain concise explanations of some key results in the axiomatic and algebraic approaches to quantum field theory, which are relevant to quantum entanglement. They serve to put the connection between quantum field theory and quantum information theory on a precise and rigorous footing.

DOI
10.1103/revmodphys.90.045003

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The 2016 APS Medal for Excellence in Physics was given to Edward Witten. This contribution was invited in conjunction with this award. These original notes contain concise explanations of some key results in the axiomatic and algebraic approaches to quantum field theory, which are relevant to quantum entanglement. They serve to put the connection between quantum field theory and quantum information theory on a precise and rigorous footing.
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These lecture notes aim to provide an introduction to entanglement entropies in quantum field theories, including holographic ones. We explore basic properties and simple examples of entanglement entropies, mostly in two dimensions, with an emphasis on physical rather than formal aspects of the subject. In the holographic case, the focus is on how that physics is realized geometrically by the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. In order to make the notes somewhat self-contained for readers whose background is in high-energy theory, a brief introduction to the relevant aspects of quantum information theory is included.
These lecture notes aim to provide an introduction to entanglement entropies in quantum field theories, including holographic ones. We explore basic properties and simple examples of entanglement entropies, mostly in two dimensions, with an emphasis on physical rather than formal aspects of the subject. In the holographic case, the focus is on how that physics is realized geometrically by the Ryu-Takayanagi formula. In order to make the notes somewhat self-contained for readers whose background is in high-energy theory, a brief introduction to the relevant aspects of quantum information theory is included.
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.
Entanglement has long been the subject of discussion by philosophers of quantum theory, and has recently come to play an essential role for physicists in their development of quantum information theory. In this paper we show how the formalism of algebraic quantum field theory (AQFT) provides a rigorous framework within which to analyze entanglement in the context of a fully relativistic formulation of quantum theory. What emerges from the analysis are new practical and theoretical limitations on an experimenter’s ability to perform operations on a field in one spacetime region that can disentangle its state from the state of the field in other spacelike-separated regions. These limitations show just how deeply entrenched entanglement is in relativistic quantum field theory, and yield a fresh perspective on the ways in which the theory differs conceptually from both standard nonrelativistic quantum theory and classical relativistic field theory. “...despite its conservative way of dealing with physical principles, algebraic QFT leads to a radical change of paradigm. Instead of the Newtonian view of a space-time filled with a material content one enters the reality of Leibniz created by relation (in particular inclusions) between ‘monads ’ (∼ the hyperfinite type III1 local von Neumann factors A(O) which as single algebras are nearly void of physical meaning) ” Schroer (1998, p. 302).