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On the Galoisian Structure of Heisenberg Indeterminacy Principle

Julien Page, Gabriel Catren

Published Dec 1, 2013• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We revisit Heisenberg indeterminacy principle in the light of the Galois-Grothendieck theory for the case of finite abelian Galois extensions. In this restricted framework, the Galois-Grothendieck duality between finite K-algebras split by a Galois extension L and finite Gal(L:K)-sets can be reformulated as a Pontryagin-like duality between two abelian groups. We then define a Galoisian quantum theory in which the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle between conjugate canonical variables can be understood as a form of Galoisian duality: the larger the group of automorphisms H (a subgroup of G) of the states in a G-set O = G/H, the smaller the ``conjugate'' observable algebra that can be consistently valuated on such states. We then argue that this Galois indeterminacy principle can be understood as a particular case of the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle formulated in terms of the notion of entropic indeterminacy. Finally, we argue that states endowed with a group of automorphisms H can be interpreted as squeezed coherent states, i.e. as states that minimize the Heisenberg indeterminacy relations.

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We revisit Heisenberg indeterminacy principle in the light of the Galois-Grothendieck theory for the case of finite abelian Galois extensions. In this restricted framework, the Galois-Grothendieck duality between finite K-algebras split by a Galois extension L and finite Gal(L:K)-sets can be reformulated as a Pontryagin-like duality between two abelian groups. We then define a Galoisian quantum theory in which the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle between conjugate canonical variables can be understood as a form of Galoisian duality: the larger the group of automorphisms H (a subgroup of G) of the states in a G-set O = G/H, the smaller the ``conjugate'' observable algebra that can be consistently valuated on such states. We then argue that this Galois indeterminacy principle can be understood as a particular case of the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle formulated in terms of the notion of entropic indeterminacy. Finally, we argue that states endowed with a group of automorphisms H can be interpreted as squeezed coherent states, i.e. as states that minimize the Heisenberg indeterminacy relations.
Heisenberg's indeterminacy is here proposed not as a foundation but as a limiting case of a deeper, geometric constraint: gradient indeterminacy (I-G). Physical reality is taken to operate with finite regions and gradients rather than with mathematical points and sharp values. For conjugate fields A,BA,BA,B over a region Ω\OmegaΩ of volume V(Ω)V(\Omega)V(Ω), the relation ∥∇A∥Ω ∥∇B∥Ω V(Ω)≥(ℏ/2) F(Ω)\|\nabla A\|_\Omega\,\|\nabla B\|_\Omega\,V(\Omega)\ge(\hbar/2)\,\mathcal{F}(\Omega)∥∇A∥Ω​∥∇B∥Ω​V(Ω)≥(ℏ/2)F(Ω) recovers Δx Δp≥ℏ/2\Delta x\,\Delta p\ge\hbar/2ΔxΔp≥ℏ/2 in the point limit V(Ω)→0V(\Omega)\to 0V(Ω)→0, while the contextual factor F(Ω)\mathcal{F}(\Omega)F(Ω) ties the bound to the shape, topology, and curvature of the region. Because the relation is anchored in real regions rather than in an idealization, the bound adapts to the system and extends naturally beyond the canonical pairs Heisenberg treated. We give the point-limit derivation and a consistency check, a classical toy model that reaches an indeterminacy floor without assuming the uncertainty principle, a typology of conjugate relations, the differential-% geometric formalization, and a set of falsifiable predictions (shape- and curvature-dependent vacuum fluctuations, small-region corrections, and an environment-dependent Hubble rate). The divergences of point-based theories are proposed to be artefacts of the point idealization rather than features of the physics. This is offered as a proposal of structure, not a completed derivation.
A 'Galois quantum system' in which the position and momentum take values in the Galois field GF( p ℓ ) is considered. It is comprised of ℓ-component systems which are coupled in a particular way and is described by a certain class of Hamiltonians. Displacements in the GF( p ℓ ) × GF( p ℓ ) phase space and the corresponding Heisenberg–Weyl group are studied. Symplectic transformations are shown to form the Sp(2, GF( p ℓ )) group. Wigner and Weyl functions are defined and their properties are studied. Frobenius symmetries, which are based on Frobenius automorphisms in the theory of Galois fields, are a unique feature of these systems (for ℓ ⩾ 2). If they commute with the Hamiltonian, there are constants of motion which are discussed. An analytic representation in the ℓ-sheeted complex plane provides an elegant formalism that embodies the properties of Frobenius transformations. The difference between a Galois quantum system and other finite quantum systems where the position and momentum take values in the ring is discussed.
As a consequence of Heisenberg indeterminacy principle, quantum states are defined by half the number of variables required in classical mechanics.The main claim of this paper is that this "reduction" in the number of variables required to completely describe a physical system can be understood as a consequence of the same formalism underlying the reduction procedure used in gauge theories, namely the Mardsen-Weinstein symplectic reduction.This fact points towards a gauge-theoretical interpretation of the indeterminacy principle in quantum mechanics.
As a consequence of Heisenberg indeterminacy principle, quantum states are defined by half the number of variables required in classical mechanics. The main claim of this paper is that this " reduction " in the number of variables required to completely describe a physical system can be understood as a consequence of the same formalism underlying the reduction procedure used in gauge theories, namely the Mardsen-Weinstein symplectic reduction. This fact points towards a gauge-theoretical interpretation of the indeterminacy principle in quantum mechanics.
Finite group extensions offer a natural language to quantum computing. In a nutshell, one roughly describes the action of a quantum computer as consisting of two finite groups of gates: error gates from the general Pauli group and stabilizing gates within an extension group . In this communication we explore the nice adequacy between group theoretical concepts such as commutators, normal subgroups, groups of automorphisms, short exact sequences, wreath products etc. and the coherent quantum computational primitives. The structure of the single-qubit and two-qubit Clifford groups is analyzed in detail. As a byproduct, we discover that M 20 , the smallest perfect group for which the commutator subgroup departs from the set of commutators, underlies quantum coherence of the two-qubit system. We recover similar results by looking at the automorphisms of a complete set of mutually unbiased bases.
This work develops a unified structural explanation of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle based onthe infinite-dimensional nature of physical reality and its mathematical representation. Quantumstates are intrinsically wave-like and must be described by functions rather than finite-dimensionalvectors, forcing the use of an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. Within this framework, fourindependent but mutually reinforcing structures emerge: analytic non-commutativity ofmultiplication and differentiation, Fourier duality and the mutual broadening of a function and itstransform, the symplectic geometry of phase space and its minimal area constraint, and thealgebraic rigidity encoded in the Weyl relations and the Stone–von Neumann theorem. Theselayers form a logical chain from finite-dimensional impossibility to infinite-dimensional necessity,revealing the uncertainty principle as a structural feature of the physical world. The paper furtherdiscusses extensions to the generalized uncertainty principle and the infinite-dimensionalstructure of quantum field theory.