General probabilistic theories: An introduction

Teiko Heinosaari, Leevi Leppäjärvi, Martin Plávala

Gen Kimura, Koji Nuida, Hideki Imai

Jonathan Steinberg

Federico Holik, César Massri, Angelo Plastino

We provide a generalization of the approach to geometric probability advanced by the great mathematician Gian Carlo Rota, in order to apply it to generalized probabilistic physical theories. In particular, we use this generalization to provide an improvement of the Jaynes' MaxEnt method. The improvement consists in providing a framework for the introduction of symmetry constrains. This allows us to include group theory within MaxEnt. Some examples are provided.

Jonathan Steinberg

Farid Shähandeh

Generalized contextuality refers to our inability of explaining measurement statistics using a contextindependent probabilistic and ontological model.On the other hand, measurement statistics can also be modeled using the framework of general probabilistic theories (GPTs).Here, starting from a construction of GPTs based on a Gleason-type theorem, we fully characterize these structures with respect to their permission and rejection of generalized (non)contextual ontological models.It follows that in any GPT construction the three insistence of (i) the no-restriction hypothesis, (ii) the ontological noncontextuality, and (iii) multiple nonrefinable measurements for any fixed number of outcomes are incompatible.Hence, any GPT satisfying the no-restriction hypothesis is ontologically noncontextual if and only if it is simplicial.We give a detailed discussion of GPTs for which the no-restriction hypothesis is violated, and show that they can always be considered as subtheories (subGPTs) of GPTs satisfying the hypothesis.It is shown that subGPTs are ontologically noncontextual if and only if they are subtheories of simplicial GPTs of the same dimensionality.Finally, we establish as a corollary the necessary and sufficient condition for a single resourceful measurement or state to promote an ontologically noncontextual (i.e., classical) general probabilistic theory to an ontologically contextual (i.e., nonclassical) one under the no-restriction hypothesis.