A simple probabilistic cellular automaton is shown to be equivalent to a relativistic fermionic quantum field theory with interactions. Occupation numbers for fermions are classical bits or Ising spins. The automaton acts deterministically on bit configurations. The genuinely probabilistic character of quantum physics is realized by probabilistic initial conditions. In turn, the probabilistic automaton is equivalent to the classical statistical system of a generalized Ising model. For a description of the probabilistic information at any given time quantum concepts as wave functions and non-commuting operators for observables emerge naturally. Quantum mechanics can be understood as a particular case of classical statistics. This offers prospects to realize aspects of quantum computing in the form of probabilistic classical computing. This article is part of the theme issue 'Quantum technologies in particle physics'.
Abstract Chapter 7 covers the main reasons for adopting the methods of quantum field theory (QFT) to study the critical phenomena. It presents both the canonical quantization and the path integral formulation of the field theories as well as the analysis of the perturbation theory. The chapter also covers transfer matrix formalism and the Euclidean aspects of QFT, the field theory of the Ising model, Feynman diagrams, correlation functions in coordinate space, the Minkowski space and the Legendre transformation and vertex functions. Everything in this chapter will be needed sooner or later, since it highlights most of the relevant aspects of quantum field theory.