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Le rôle de l'information dans la théorie quantique

Alexei Grinbaum

Published Jan 1, 2004• 1 citation
OpenAlex

Abstract

We propose a system of information-theoretic axioms from which we derive the formalism of quantum theory. Part I is devoted to the conceptual foundations of the information-theoretic approach. We argue that this approach belongs to the epistemological framework depicted as a loop of existences. In Part II we derive the quantum formalism from information-theoretic axioms and we analyze the twofold role of observer as physical system and as informational agent. Quantum logical techniques are then introduced, and we prove theorems reconstructing elements of the formalism. In Part III, we introduce the formalism of C*-algebras and give it an information theoretic interpretation. We analyze the conceptual underpinnings of the theory of modular automorphisms and we give an information-theoretic justification for the emergence of time in the algebraic approach. We conclude by giving a list of open questions, including topics in cognitive science, decision theory, and information technology.

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arXiv:1707.05602•Cambridge University Press eBooks•May 17, 2018•24 citations
We propose a system of information-theoretic axioms from which we derive the formalism of quantum theory. Part I is devoted to the conceptual foundations of the information-theoretic approach. We argue that this approach belongs to the epistemological framework depicted as a loop of existences. In Part II we derive the quantum formalism from information-theoretic axioms and we analyze the twofold role of observer as physical system and as informational agent. Quantum logical techniques are then introduced, and we prove theorems reconstructing elements of the formalism. In Part III, we introduce the formalism of C*-algebras and give it an information theoretic interpretation. We analyze the conceptual underpinnings of the theory of modular automorphisms and we give an information-theoretic justification for the emergence of time in the algebraic approach. We conclude by giving a list of open questions, including topics in cognitive science, decision theory, and information technology.
We propose a system of information-theoretic axioms from which we derive the formalism of quantum theory. Part I is devoted to the conceptual foundations of the information-theoretic approach. We argue that this approach belongs to the epistemological framework depicted as a loop of existences. In Part II we derive the quantum formalism from information-theoretic axioms and we analyze the twofold role of observer as physical system and as informational agent. Quantum logical techniques are then introduced, and we prove theorems reconstructing elements of the formalism. In Part III, we introduce the formalism of C*-algebras and give it an information theoretic interpretation. We analyze the conceptual underpinnings of the theory of modular automorphisms and we give an information-theoretic justification for the emergence of time in the algebraic approach. We conclude by giving a list of open questions, including topics in cognitive science, decision theory, and information technology.
In this paper we derive the complex Hilbert space formalism of quantum theory from four simple information theoretic axioms. It is shown that quantum theory is the only non classical probabilistic theory satisfying the following axioms: distinguishability, conservation, reversibility, composition. The new results of this reconstruction compared to other reconstructions by other authors are: (i) we get rid of axiom "subspace" in favor of axiom conservation eliminating mathematical requirements contained in previous axiomatics; (ii) we are able to classify all the probabilistic theories that are consistent requiring (a) only the first two axioms (b) only the first three axioms; this could be useful in experimental tests of quantum theory since it gives the possibility to understand whether or not other mathematical models could be consistent with such tests; (iii) we provide a connection between two different approaches to quantum foundations, quantum logic and the one based on information theoretic primitives showing that any theory satisfying the first two axioms given above either is classical or is a theory in which physical systems are described by a projective geometry.
In this paper we derive the complex Hilbert space formalism of quantum theory from four simple information theoretic axioms. It is shown that quantum theory is the only non classical probabilistic theory satisfying the following axioms: distinguishability, conservation, reversibility, composition. The new results of this reconstruction compared to other reconstructions by other authors are: (i) we get rid of axiom subspace in favor of axiom conservation eliminating mathematical requirements contained in previous axiomatics; (ii) we are able to classify all the probabilistic theories that are consistent requiring (a) only the first two axioms (b) only the first three axioms; this could be useful in experimental tests of quantum theory since it gives the possibility to understand whether or not other mathematical models could be consistent with such tests; (iii) we provide a connection between two different approaches to quantum foundations, quantum logic and the one based on information theoretic primitives showing that any theory satisfying the first two axioms given above either is classical or is a theory in which physical systems are described by a projective geometry.
Abstract The reconstruction of quantum physics has been connected with the interpretation of the quantum formalism, and has continued to be so with the recent deeper consideration of the relation of information to quantum states and processes. This recent form of reconstruction has mainly involved conceiving quantum theory on the basis of informational principles, providing new perspectives on physical correlations and entanglement that can be used to encode information. By contrast to the traditional, interpretational approach to the foundations of quantum mechanics, which attempts directly to establish the meaning of the elements of the theory and often touches on metaphysical issues, the newer, more purely reconstructive approach sometimes defers this task, focusing instead on the mathematical derivation of the theoretical apparatus from simple principles or axioms. In its most pure form, this sort of theory reconstruction is fundamentally the mathematical derivation of the elements of theory from explicitly presented, often operational principles involving a minimum of extra‐mathematical content. Here, a representative series of specifically information‐based treatments—from partial reconstructions that make connections with information to rigorous axiomatizations, including those involving the theories of generalized probability and abstract systems—is reviewed.
This thesis is a contribution to the debate on the implications of quantum information theory for the foundations of quantum mechanics. In Part 1, the logical and conceptual status of various notions of information is assessed. It is emphasized that the everyday notion of information is to be firmly distinguished from the technical notions arising in information theory; however it is maintained that in both settings `information' functions as an abstract noun, hence does not refer to a particular or substance (the worth of this point is illustrated in application to quantum teleportation). The claim that `Information is Physical' is assessed and argued to face a destructive dilemma. Accordingly, the slogan may not be understood as an ontological claim, but at best, as a methodological one. The reflections of Bruckner and Zeilinger (2001) and Deutsch and Hayden (2000) on the nature of information in quantum mechanics are critically assessed and some results presented on the characterization of entanglement in the Deutsch-Hayden formalism. Some philosophical aspects of quantum computation are discussed and general morals drawn concerning the nature of quantum information theory. In Part II, following some preliminary remarks, two particular information-theoretic approaches to the foundations of quantum mechanics are assessed in detail. It is argued that Zeilinger's (1999) Foundational Principle is unsuccessful as a foundational principle for quantum mechanics. The information-theoretic characterization theorem of Clifton, Bub and Halvorson (2003) is assessed more favourably, but the generality of the approach is questioned and it is argued that the implications of the theorem for the traditional foundational problems in quantum mechanics remains obscure.
We give a condensed and accessible summary of a recent derivation of quantum theory from information-theoretic principles, and use it to study the consequences of this and other reconstructions for our conceptual understanding of the quantum world. Since these principles are to a large extent expressed in computational terminology, we argue that the hypothesis of "physics as computation", if suitably interpreted, attains surprising explanatory power. Similarly as Jeffrey Bub and others, we conclude that quantum theory should be understood as a "principle theory of information", and we regard this view as a partial interpretation of quantum theory. We outline three options for completion into a full-fledged interpretation of quantum theory, but argue that, despite their interpretational agnosticism, the principled reconstructions pose a challenge for existing psi-ontic interpretations. We also argue that continuous reversible time evolution can be understood as a characteristic property of quantum theory, offering a possible answer to Chris Fuchs' search for a "glimpse of quantum reality".