Abstract Relativistic Quantum Information Theory (RQI) is a flourishing research area of physics, yet, there has been no systematic mathematical treatment of the field. In this paper, we suggest bundle theoretic descriptions of massive single-particle state spaces, which are basic building blocks of RQI. In the language of bundle theory, one can construct a vector bundle over the set of all possible motion states of a massive particle, in whose fibers the moving particle’s internal quantum state as perceived by a fixed inertial observer is encoded. A link between the usual Hilbert space description is provided by a generalized induced representation construction on the L 2 -section space of the bundle. The aim of this paper is two-fold. One is to communicate the basic ideas of RQI to mathematicians and the other is to suggest an improved formalism for single-particle state spaces that encompasses all known massive particles including those which have never been dealt with in the RQI literature. Some of the theoretical implications of the formalism will be explored at the end of the paper.
Abstract Relativistic Quantum Information Theory (RQI) is a flourishing research area of physics, yet, there has been no systematic mathematical treatment of the field. In this paper, we suggest bundle theoretic descriptions of massive single-particle state spaces, which are basic building blocks of RQI. In the language of bundle theory, one can construct a vector bundle over the set of all possible motion states of a massive particle, in whose fibers the moving particle’s internal quantum state as perceived by a fixed inertial observer is encoded. A link between the usual Hilbert space description is provided by a generalized induced representation construction on the L 2 -section space of the bundle. The aim of this paper is two-fold. One is to communicate the basic ideas of RQI to mathematicians and the other is to suggest an improved formalism for single-particle state spaces that encompasses all known massive particles including those which have never been dealt with in the RQI literature. Some of the theoretical implications of the formalism will be explored at the end of the paper.
Recently, in the context of Relativistic Quantum Information Theory (RQI) of massive spin-1/2 particles, it has been suggested that it is impossible to perform a momentum-independent spin measurement, showing the inadequacy of the spin reduced density matrix as a legitimate information resource. This is because there is an unavoidable ambiguity in the definition of the spin of a moving particle. In this paper, by introducing a vector bundle theoretic way to view the single-particle state space, we try to rule out this ambiguity. The discrete degree of freedom of the resulting representation space contains information about the Pauli–Lubanski four-vector of the particle instead of the ambiguous spin. Comparing this representation with the standard one used in the RQI literature, we show that the discrete degree of freedom of the standard representation space attains the meaning of the Newton–Wigner spin. In addition, using this viewpoint, we give a mathematical proof of why the spin reduced density matrix is meaningless, which is stronger than the previous claims in that it asserts that the matrix is void of any meaning at all, not just in terms of the impossibility of measurement or Lorentz non-covariance. We give a way (which turns out to be the only way) to modify it to obtain the Pauli–Lubanski reduced density matrix, which is covariant under Lorentz transformations.
A geometric framework for describing quantum particles on a possibly curved background is proposed. Natural constructions on certain distributional bundles ("quantum bundles") over the space–time manifold yield a quantum "formalism" along any 1-dimensional timelike submanifold (a "detector"); in the flat, inertial case this reproduces the basic results of the usual quantum field theory, while in general it could be seen as a local, "linearized" description of the actual physics.
Over the past few years, a new field of high research intensity has emerged that blends together concepts from gravitational physics and quantum computing. Known as relativistic quantum information, or RQI, the field aims to understand the relationship between special and general relativity and quantum information. Since the original discoveries of Hawking radiation and the Unruh effect, it has been known that incorporating the concepts of quantum theory into relativistic settings can produce new and surprising effects. However it is only in recent years that it has become appreciated that the basic concepts involved in quantum information science undergo significant revision in relativistic settings, and that new phenomena arise when quantum entanglement is combined with relativity. A number of examples illustrate that point. Quantum teleportation fidelity is affected between observers in uniform relative acceleration. Entanglement is an observer-dependent property that is degraded from the perspective of accelerated observers moving in flat spacetime. Entanglement can also be extracted from the vacuum of relativistic quantum field theories, and used to distinguish peculiar motion from cosmological expansion. The new quantum information-theoretic framework of quantum channels in terms of completely positive maps and operator algebras now provides powerful tools for studying matters of causality and information flow in quantum field theory in curved spacetimes. This focus issue provides a sample of the state of the art in research in RQI. Some of the articles in this issue review the subject while others provide interesting new results that will stimulate further research. What makes the subject all the more exciting is that it is beginning to enter the stage at which actual experiments can be contemplated, and some of the articles appearing in this issue discuss some of these exciting new developments. The subject of RQI pulls together concepts and ideas from special relativity, quantum optics, general relativity, quantum communication and quantum computation. The high level of current interest in these subjects is exemplified by the recent award of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics to Serge Haroche and David J Wineland for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems. It is our hope that this issue will encourage new researchers to enter this rapidly developing and exciting new field. R B Mann and T C Ralph Guest Editors
We propose a new systematic fibre bundle formulation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. The new form of the theory is equivalent to the usual one and is in harmony with the modern trends in theoretical physics and potentially admits new generalizations in different directions. In it the Hilbert space of a quantum system (from conventional quantum mechanics) is replaced with an appropriate Hilbert bundle of states and a pure state of the system is described by a lifting of paths or section along paths in this bundle. The evolution of a pure state is determined through the bundle (analog of the) Schrödinger equation. Now the dynamical variables and density operator are described via liftings of paths or morphisms along paths in suitable bundles. The mentioned quantities are connected by a number of relations derived in this work. This is the fifth, closing, part of our investigation. We briefly discuss the observer's role in the theory and different realizations of the space–time model used as a base space in the bundle approach to quantum mechanics. The exact conditions for the equivalence of Hilbert bundle and Hilbert space formulations of the theory are pointed out. A table of comparison between both descriptions of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics is presented. We discuss some principal moments of the Hilbert bundle description and show that as a scheme it is more general than the Hilbert space one. Different directions for further research are pointed out.
This thesis is a compilation of research in relativistic quantum information theory, and research in quantum reference frames. The research in the former category provides a fundamental construction of quantum information theory of localised qubits in curved spacetimes. For example, this concerns quantum experiments on free-space photons and electrons in the vicinity of the Earth. From field theory a description of localised qubits that traverse classical trajectories in curved spacetimes is obtained, for photons and massive spin-1/2 fermions. The equations governing the evolution of the two-dimensional quantum state and its absolute phase are determined. Quantum information theory of these qubits is then developed. The Stern-Gerlach measurement formalism for massive spin-1/2 fermions is also derived from field theory. In the latter category of research, the process of changing reference frames is considered for the case where the reference frames are quantum systems. As part of this process, it is shown that decoherence is necessarily induced on any quantum system described relative to these frames. This process is explored using examples involving quantum reference frames for phase and orientation. Quantifying the effect of changing quantum reference frames provides a theoretical description for this process in quantum experiments, and serves as a first step in developing a relativity principle for theories in which all objects including reference frames are necessarily quantum.
A consistent theory of quantum entanglement requires that constituent single-particle states belong to the same Hilbert space, the coherent eigenstates of a complete set of operators in a given representation, defined with respect to a shared continuous parameterization. Formulating such eigenstates for a single relativistic particle with spin, and applying them to the description of many-body states, presents well-known challenges. In this paper, we review the covariant theory of relativistic spin and entanglement in a framework first proposed by Stueckelberg and developed by Horwitz, Piron, et al. This approach modifies Wigner’s method by introducing an arbitrary timelike unit vector nμ and then inducing a representation of SL(2,C), based on pμ rather than on the spacetime momentum. Generalizing this approach, we construct relativistic spin states on an extended phase space {(xμ,pμ),(ζμ,πμ)}, inducing a representation on the momentum πμ, thus providing a novel dynamical interpretation of the timelike unit vector nμ=πμ/M. Studying the unitary representations of the Poincaré group on the extended phase space allows us to define basis quantities for quantum states and develop the gauge invariant electromagnetic Hamiltonian in classical and quantum mechanics. We write plane wave solutions for free particles and construct stable singlet states, and relate these to experiments involving temporal interference, analogous to the spatial interference known from double slit experiments.