Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate that fundamental aspects of quantum theory can be applied to work in information studies (IS). Design/methodology/approach The field of information studies is so broad and extensive that it requires similar breadth of epistemic and methodological features in order to fulfill its inherent promise as a human enterprise. Quantum theory holds promise as a way to shape questions and inquiry in information studies (IS). Findings The revolutionary elements of quantum theory, such as entanglement, nonlocality, etc. can be applied to information, especially language‐based communication. Research limitations/implications Perhaps most especially, the non‐ or extra‐mathematical components of quantum theory offer ontological and epistemic modes of thought which apply to information. Those modes of thought are ripe with conceptual promise for examination of, for example, information as objective entity and as complex material substance. This paper explores some of the potentially promising ways to explore information as a complex phenomenon. Originality/value While some work in IS has considered quantum phenomena, there has not been a thorough investigation of the theory's application to inquiry in IS.
Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate that fundamental aspects of quantum theory can be applied to work in information studies (IS). Design/methodology/approach The field of information studies is so broad and extensive that it requires similar breadth of epistemic and methodological features in order to fulfill its inherent promise as a human enterprise. Quantum theory holds promise as a way to shape questions and inquiry in information studies (IS). Findings The revolutionary elements of quantum theory, such as entanglement, nonlocality, etc. can be applied to information, especially language‐based communication. Research limitations/implications Perhaps most especially, the non‐ or extra‐mathematical components of quantum theory offer ontological and epistemic modes of thought which apply to information. Those modes of thought are ripe with conceptual promise for examination of, for example, information as objective entity and as complex material substance. This paper explores some of the potentially promising ways to explore information as a complex phenomenon. Originality/value While some work in IS has considered quantum phenomena, there has not been a thorough investigation of the theory's application to inquiry in IS.
Quantum information theory represents a revolutionary paradigm that merges quantum mechanics with information science, fundamentally transforming our understanding of computation, communication, and information processing. This chapter provides a comprehensive examination of quantum information theory, exploring its theoretical foundations, practical applications, and transformative potential across multiple domains. We investigate the core principles including quantum bits (qubits), superposition, entanglement, and quantum interference, while analyzing their implications for quantum computing, cryptography, and communication protocols. Through systematic literature review and methodological analysis, we present current research trends, breakthrough developments, and emerging applications. The chapter addresses significant challenges including decoherence, error correction, and scalability issues that currently limit practical implementation. Our discussion encompasses quantum algorithms, quantum error correction codes, and the evolving landscape of quantum technologies. We conclude by identifying future research directions and the potential societal impact of quantum information systems, emphasizing both the unprecedented opportunities and the technical obstacles that define this rapidly advancing field.
This paper explores the profound implications of information theory for understanding quantum entanglement, proposing a novel framework that posits entanglement as a fundamental property of information flow rather than a mere correlation. We introduce the concept of "Entangled Information Fields" – dynamic, complex fields that encode and manipulate information, with the potential to influence quantum phenomena. This research builds upon established principles of information theory and quantum mechanics, aiming to provide a more holistic understanding of this perplexing phenomenon. The core claim is that entanglement represents a critical aspect of information processing, driving the observed quantum behavior. We detail the proposed framework, exploring its potential to resolve long-standing conceptual difficulties and offer new avenues for research in quantum information theory.
Quantum Economic Philosophy takes the quantumlike features inherent in human cognition as its starting point, reconstructing economic philosophy to rethink and transcend the mechanistic worldview that has long dominated economic thought. It reworks the ontological, epistemological and methodological underpinnings of economics through quantum logic, breaking away from the constraints of classical substance ontology. Within this new framework, economic agents are no longer isolated, selfcontained atomic individuals but relational nodes embedded within networks; economic states are not predetermined objective facts waiting passively to be documented, but a set of coexisting, superposed potentialities. Economic observation is not a detached, neutral act of recording; rather, observation, together with the observer’s expectations and actions, actively participates in shaping the economic reality under investigation. Adopting a practical ontology, this book reinterprets core categories including value, capital, markets and economic justice. It unpacks the implicit metaphysical presuppositions embedded within mainstream economics, and clarifies that the quantum turn is not merely rhetorical borrowing from quantum physics. Instead, it constitutes a fundamental paradigm shift suited to the endogenous reflexivity, uncertainty and generative character of economic systems. Balancing rigorous philosophical inquiry with theoretical extensibility for economics, this volume is written for students, researchers and thinkers working in economics, economic philosophy and social theory. It strips away the a priori assumptions built into the conventional equilibrium paradigm, lays a coherent and unified conceptual foundation for the entire quantum economics book series, and furnishes a fresh philosophical vocabulary for re-examining economic order, human choice and institutional evolution.
The approach to thinking about information developed in the previous chapter is turned towards the quantum theory. First, some of the characteristic ideas and applications of quantum information theory are presented, then the nature of quantum information itself is discussed. With the correct conception of Shannon information to hand, the dimension of generalisation which the quantum concept occupies is made clear. Quantum information is simply what is produced by a quantum information source. As in the classical case, a piece of information will be an abstract type (a sequence of quantum states), rather than a concrete thing or physical substance. This conception is defended from a number of potential objections which might be raised. With a clear grasp obtained of the relation between quantum information and the world, it proves short work to dissect the slogan `Information is Physical’ and dispatch the prospect of informational immaterialism.
This thesis is fundamentally about using conceptual and mathematical constructs from the area of Quantum Theory in Information Retrieval (IR). The need and motivation for this is two-fold – firstly, it has been increasingly shown in decision sciences that human decision-making does not always conform to the norms of traditional probability and logic framework. The quantum framework offers a generalised probability and logic framework which can model decisions or judgements under dynamic context and ambiguity. Secondly, there is a need in IR for theories and models which improve our understanding of user behaviour. Hence it is worth exploring the combination of the quantum framework and IR, especially focused on the user aspects of IR. The overarching research question is whether there is evidence of user behaviour in IR scenarios which warrants the need for a quantum based approach by way of showing the limitations of the traditional (classical) approach. The methodology involves analysing data to detect quantum-like phenomena of interference, contextuality, incompatibility, etc. from two common data sources in IR–standard datasets like query log data, and through crowdsourced user studies designed similar to some quantum physics or cognitive science experiments. While the evidence of quantum-like phenomena from standard datasets is not convincing, we find that some of the user studies reveal the quantum-like structure of document judgements. One of the key findings which has implication for IR is the dynamic interactions between the different dimensions of relevance. For example, a user’s judgement of reliability of a document depends significantly on whether they found it understandable or not. Thus, the consideration of one relevance dimension or document feature can provide a context for another dimension, contrary to the current IR models which consider these features to be independent of each other and an objective property of the document. The quantum framework has been especially designed to deal with such scenarios where properties of systems or objects do not exist independent of measurement context. The thesis concludes with suggestions about incorporating quantum mathematical constructs into state-of-art IR algorithms.
Introduction Quantum information theory is the study of how the peculiar features of quantum mechanics can be exploited for the purposes of information processing and transmission. A central theme of such a study is the ways in which quantum mechanics opens up possibilities that go beyond what can be achieved classically. This has in turn led to a renewed interest in, and a new perspective on, the differences between the classical and the quantum. Although much of the work along these lines has been motivated by quantum information theory – and some of it has been motivated by the conviction that quantum theory is essentially about possibilities of information processing and transmission – the results obtained, and the frameworks developed, have interest even for those of us who are not of that conviction. Indeed, much of the recent work echoes, and builds upon, work that predates the inception of quantum information theory. The significance of such work extends beyond the setting of quantum information theory; the work done on distinguishing the quantum from the classical in the context of frameworks that embrace both is something worthy of the attention of anyone interested in the foundational issues surrounding quantum theory. One of the striking features of quantum mechanics lies in its probabilistic character. A quantum state yields, not a definite prediction of the outcome of an experiment, but a probability measure on the space of possible outcomes. Of course, probabilities occur also in a classical context.