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Duke Mathematical Journal

Boolean embeddings of orthomodular sets and quantum logic

Neal Zierler, Michael Schlessinger

Published Jun 1, 1965• 75 citations
Publisher

Abstract

By a “quantum logic” we mean a pair F, P where P is a set and F is a set of functions from P to the closed real unit interval satisfying three postulates which we describe in intuitive terms here. Cf. [2], [4], [7]. P may be interpreted as the set of events and F the set of states of a “physical system”, and f(x) then becomes the probability of occurrence of the event x in the state f. Since the outcome of an experiment is an estimate for some f(x), or a collection of such estimates, it is natural to identify events which cannot be distinguished by experiment.

DOI
10.1215/s0012-7094-65-03224-2

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By a “quantum logic” we mean a pair F, P where P is a set and F is a set of functions from P to the closed real unit interval satisfying three postulates which we describe in intuitive terms here. Cf. [2], [4], [7]. P may be interpreted as the set of events and F the set of states of a “physical system”, and f(x) then becomes the probability of occurrence of the event x in the state f. Since the outcome of an experiment is an estimate for some f(x), or a collection of such estimates, it is natural to identify events which cannot be distinguished by experiment.
Since 1933, when Kolmogorov laid the foundations for probability and statistics as we know them today [1], it has been recognized that propositions asserting that such and such an event occurred as a consequence of the execution of a particular random experiment tend to band together and form a Boolean algebra. In 1936, Birkhoff and von Neumann [2] suggested that the so-called logic of quantum mechanics should not be a Boolean algebra, but rather should form what is now called a modular ortholattice [3]. Presumably, the departure from Boolean algebras encountered in quantum mechanics can be attributed to the fact that in quantum mechanics, one must consider more than one physical experiment, e.g., an experiment measuring position, an experiment measuring charge, an experiment measuring momentum, etc., and, because of the uncertainty principle, these experiments need not admit a common refinement in terms of which the Kolmogorov theory is directly applicable. Mackey's Axioms I–VI for quantum mechanics [4] imply that the logic of quantum mechanics should be a σ-orthocomplete orthomodular poset [5]. Most contemporary practitioners of quantum logic seem to agree that a quantum logic is (at least) an orthomodular poset [6], [7], [8], [9], [10] or some variation thereof [11]. P. D. Finch [12] has shown that every completely orthomodular poset is the logic arising from sets of Boolean logics, where these sets have a structure similar to the structures generally given to quantum logic. In all of these versions of quantum logic, a fundamental relation, the relation of compatibility or commutativity, plays a decisive role.
Abstract With many physical processes in which quantum mechanical phenomena can occur, it is essential to take into account a decision mechanism based on measurement data. This can be achieved by means of so-called numerical events, which are specified as follows: Let S be a set of states of a physical system and p(s) the probability of the occurrence of an event when the system is in state s∈Ss\in Ss∈S s ∈ S . A function p:S→[0,1]p:S\rightarrow [0,1]p:S→[0,1] p : S → [ 0 , 1 ] is called a numerical event or alternatively, an S-probability. If a set P of S-probabilities is ordered by the order of real functions, it becomes a poset which can be considered as a quantum logic. In case the logic P is a Boolean algebra, this will indicate that the underlying physical system is a classical one. The goal of this paper is to study sets of S-probabilities which are not far from being Boolean algebras by means of the addition and comparison of functions that occur in these sets. In particular, certain classes of so-called Boolean posets of S-probabilities are characterized and related to each other and descriptions based on sets of states are derived.
According to quantum mechanics, the pure states of a microsystem are represented by vectors in a Hilbert Space. Sentences of the form, "x є L" (where x is the state vector for a system, L a subspace of the appropriate Hilbert space), may be called Q-propositions: such sentences serve to summarise our information about the results of possible experiments on the system. Quantum logic investigates the relations which hold among the Q-propositions about a given physical sys tem. These logical relations correspond to algebraic relations among the subspaces of Hilbert space. The algebra of this set of subspaces is non-Boolean, and may be regarded either as an orthomodular lattice or as a partial Boolean algebra. With each type of structure we can associate a logic. A general approach to the semantics for such a logic is provided in terms of interpretations of a formal language within an algebraic structure; an interpretation maps sentences of the language homomorphically onto elements of the structure. When the structure in question is a Boolean algera, the resulting logic is classical; here we develop a semantics for the logic associated with partial Boolean algebras. Two systems of proof, based on the natural deduction systems of Gentzen, are shown for this logic. With respect to the given sematics, these calculi are sound and weakly complete. Strong completeness is conjectured. Quantum logic deals with the logical relations between sentences, and so is properly called a logic. However, it is the logic appropriate to a limited class of sentences: proposals that it should replace classical logic wherever the latter is used should be viewed with suspicion.
We start from two closure operators defined on the elements of a special kind of partially ordered sets, called causal nets. Causal nets are used to model histories of concurrent processes, recording occurrences of local states and of events. If every maximal chain (line) of such a partially ordered set meets every maximal antichain (cut), then the two closure operators coincide, and generate a complete orthomodular lattice. In this paper we recall that, for any closed set in this lattice, every line meets either it or its orthocomplement in the lattice, and show that to any line, a two-valued state on the lattice can be associated. Starting from this result, we delineate a logical language whose formulas are interpreted over closed sets of a causal net, where every line induces an assignment of truth values to formulas. The resulting logic is non-classical; we show that maximal antichains in a causal net are associated to Boolean (hence “classical”) substructures of the overall quantum logic. 1
Abstract LetSbe a set of states of a physical system and letp(s) be the probability of an occurrence of an event when the system is in the states∈S. The functionpfromSto [0, 1] is called a numerical event, multidimensional probability or, alternatively,S-probability. Given a set of numerical events which has been obtained by measurements and not supposing any knowledge of the logical structure of the events that appear in the physical system, the question arises which kind of logic is inherent to the system under consideration. In particular, does one deal with a classical situation or a quantum one? In this survey several answers are presented. Starting by associating sets of numerical events to quantum logics we study structures that arise whenS-probabilities are partially ordered by the order of functions and characterize those structures which indicate that one deals with a classical system. In particular, sequences of numerical events are considered that give rise to Bell-like inequalities. At the center of all studies there are so called algebras ofS-probabilities, subsets of these and their generalizations. A crucial feature of these structures is that order theoretic properties can be expressed by the addition and subtraction of real functions entailing simplified algorithmic procedures. The study of numerical events and algebras ofS-probabilities goes back to a cooperation of E. G. Beltrametti and M. J. Mączyński in 1991 and has since then resulted in a series of subsequent papers of physical interest the main results of which will be commented on and put in an appropriate context.