In this paper, we explore the possibility that the concept of information may enable a derivation of the quantum formalism from a set of physically comprehensible postulates. Taking the probabilistic nature of measurements as a given, we introduce the concept of information via a novel invariance principle, the Principle of Information Gain. Using this principle, we then show that it is possible to deduce the abstract quantum formalism for finite‐dimensional quantum systems from a set of postulates, of which one is a novel physical assumption, and the remainder are based on experimental facts characteristic of quantum phenomena or are drawn from classical physics. The concept of information plays a key role in the derivation, and gives rise to some of the central structural features of the quantum formalism.
In this paper, we explore the possibility that the concept of information may enable a derivation of the quantum formalism from a set of physically comprehensible postulates. Taking the probabilistic nature of measurements as a given, we introduce the concept of information via a novel invariance principle, the Principle of Information Gain. Using this principle, we then show that it is possible to deduce the abstract quantum formalism for finite‐dimensional quantum systems from a set of postulates, of which one is a novel physical assumption, and the remainder are based on experimental facts characteristic of quantum phenomena or are drawn from classical physics. The concept of information plays a key role in the derivation, and gives rise to some of the central structural features of the quantum formalism.
In this paper and a companion paper, we attempt to systematically investigate the possibility that the concept of information may enable a derivation of the quantum formalism from a set of physically comprehensible postulates. To do so, we formulate an abstract experimental set-up and a set of assumptions based on generalizations of experimental facts that can be reasonably taken to be representative of quantum phenomena, and on theoretical ideas and principles, and show that it is possible to deduce the quantum formalism. In particular, we show that it is possible to derive the abstract quantum formalism for finite-dimensional quantum systems and the formal relations, such as the canonical commutation relationships and Dirac's Poisson Bracket rule, that are needed to apply the abstract formalism to particular systems of interest. The concept of information, via an information-theoretic invariance principle, plays a key role in the derivation, and gives rise to some of the central structural features of the quantum formalism.
Does information play a significant role in the foundations of physics? Information is the abstraction that allows us to refer to the states of systems when we choose to ignore the systems themselves. This is only possible in very particular frameworks, like in classical or quantum theory, or more generally, whenever there exists an information unit such that the state of any system can be reversibly encoded in a sufficient number of such units. In this work, we show how the abstract formalism of quantum theory can be deduced solely from the existence of an information unit with suitable properties, together with two further natural assumptions: the continuity and reversibility of dynamics, and the possibility of characterizing the state of a composite system by local measurements. This constitutes a set of postulates for quantum theory with a simple and direct physical meaning, like the ones of special relativity or thermodynamics, and it articulates a strong connection between physics and information.
In this paper, we show how information geometry, the natural geometry of discrete probability distributions, can be used to derive the quantum formalism. The derivation rests upon three elementary features of quantum phenomena, namely complementarity, measurement simulability, and global gauge invariance. When these features are appropriately formalized within an information geometric framework, and combined with a novel information-theoretic principle, the central features of the finite-dimensional quantum formalism can be reconstructed.
In this paper, we show how the framework of information geometry, the natural geometry of discrete probability distributions, can be used to derive the quantum formalism. The derivation rests upon a few elementary features of quantum phenomena, such as complementarity and global gauge invariance. When appropriately formulated within an information-geometric framework, and combined with a novel information-theoretic principle, these features lead to the abstract quantum formalism for finite-dimensional quantum systems, and the result of Wigner's theorem. By means of a correspondence principle, several correspondence rules of quantum theory, such as the canonical commutation relationships, are also systematically derived. The derivation suggests that information geometry is directly or indirectly responsible for many of the central structural features of the quantum formalism, such as the importance of square roots of probability and the occurrence of sinusoidal functions of phases in a pure quantum state. Global gauge invariance is shown to play a crucial role in the emergence of the formalism in its complex form.
Does information play a significant role in the foundations of physics? Information is the abstraction that allows us to refer to the states of systems when we choose to ignore the systems themselves. This is only possible in very particular frameworks, like in classical or quantum theory, or more generally, whenever there exists an information unit such that the state of any system can be reversibly encoded in a sufficient number of such units. In this work we show how the abstract formalism of quantum theory can be deduced solely from the existence of an information unit with suitable properties, together with two further natural assumptions: the continuity and reversibility of dynamics, and the possibility of characterizing the state of a composite system by local measurements. This constitutes a new set of postulates for quantum theory with a simple and direct physical meaning, like the ones of special relativity or thermodynamics, and it articulates a strong connection between physics and information.
In a companion paper (hereafter referred to as Paper I), we have presented an attempt to derive the finite-dimensional abstract quantum formalism from a set of physically comprehensible assumptions. In this paper, we formulate a correspondence principle, the Average-Value Correspondence Principle, that allows relations between measurement outcomes which are known to hold in a classical model of a system to be systematically taken over into the quantum model of the system. Using this principle, we derive the explicit form of the temporal evolution operator (thereby completing the derivation of the abstract quantum formalism begun in Paper I), and derive many of the formal rules (such as operator rules, commutation relations, and Dirac's Poisson bracket rule) that are needed to apply the abstract quantum formalism to model particular physical systems.