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Observation could add physical information to the universe

Philippe Guillemant, C. Abid, Marc Médale

Published Nov 21, 2013• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The experimental confirmation of Landauer principle and the emerging concept of a computational universe make it more and more crucial to understand the physical sense of information, as it has an intrinsic relation with observer knowledge that is often rejected as subjective. In this paper we propose an objective definition of phase information in a purely classical computational universe with quantized phase states, this quantization being imposed by our fundamental hypothesis that physical information has a finite and limited density, responsible for the irreversibility. We use a statistical study of results obtained by numerical simulations of a billiard to highlight an excessive and paradoxical loss of phase information that we solve by involving a classical to quantum transition. After discussing the pertinence of such a transition to clarify some problematic aspects of statistical physics, we conclude that a computational universe should automatically lose phase information through time in an irreversible way, which could be compensated by a gain of physical information due to observation and decoherence.

Related papers

Characterizing the transition from classical to quantum as an irreversible loss of physical information

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The experimental confirmation of Landauer principle and the emerging concept of a computational universe make it more and more crucial to understand the physical sense of information, as it has an intrinsic relation with observer knowledge that is often rejected as subjective. In this paper we propose an objective definition of phase information in a purely classical computational universe with quantized phase states, this quantization being imposed by our fundamental hypothesis that physical information has a finite and limited density, responsible for the irreversibility. We use a statistical study of results obtained by numerical simulations of a billiard to highlight an excessive and paradoxical loss of phase information that we solve by involving a classical to quantum transition. After discussing the pertinence of such a transition to clarify some problematic aspects of statistical physics, we conclude that a computational universe should automatically lose phase information through time in an irreversible way, which could be compensated by a gain of physical information due to observation and decoherence.

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Physical Reality and Information - Three Hypotheses

Gerd Niestegge

Since its emergence, quantum mechanics has been a challenge for an understanding of reality which is based on our intuition in a classical world. Nevertheless, it has often been tried to impose this understanding of reality on quantum theory - with limited success. Instead, it might be a better alternative to redefine the meaning of physical reality. This is the objective of the paper. A consideration of the quantum measurement process, conditional probabilities and some well-known typical quantum physical experiments provides the reasoning for the following three hypotheses: (1) Prior to a first measurement, a physical system is not in a quantum state. (2) Physical reality is all that and only that about which (classical) information is available in the universe. (3) Information creation is an independent process and is not covered by the Schroedinger equation. It is the first step of the quantum measurement process and does not have a classical counterpart. The first hypothesis makes sense only if the quantum measurement process can be described without presupposing an initial state for the system under consideration. This becomes possible by the objective conditional probabilities which represent the transition probabilities between the outcomes of successive quantum measurements and have been introduced by the author in some recent papers. The second hypothesis holds as well in the classical case, but a certain incompleteness of reality is typical of quantum mechanics and the origin of many quantum phenomena. Classically, the existence of a complete reality is presumed, and hypothesis 3 has no meaning then.

arXiv:1003.2379•Mar 11, 2010•1 citation
The experimental confirmation of Landauer principle and the emerging concept of a computational universe make it more and more crucial to understand the physical sense of information, as it has an intrinsic relation with observer knowledge that is often rejected as subjective. In this paper we propose an objective definition of phase information in a purely classical computational universe with quantized phase states, this quantization being imposed by our fundamental hypothesis that physical information has a finite and limited density, responsible for the irreversibility. We use a statistical study of results obtained by numerical simulations of a billiard to highlight an excessive and paradoxical loss of phase information that we solve by involving a classical to quantum transition. After discussing the pertinence of such a transition to clarify some problematic aspects of statistical physics, we conclude that a computational universe should automatically lose phase information through time in an irreversible way, which could be compensated by a gain of physical information due to observation and decoherence.
The experimental confirmation of Landauer principle and the emerging concept of a computational universe make it more and more crucial to understand the physical sense of information, as it has an intrinsic relation with observer knowledge that is often rejected as subjective. In this paper we propose an objective definition of phase information in a purely classical computational universe with quantized phase states, this quantization being imposed by our fundamental hypothesis that physical information has a finite and limited density, responsible for the irreversibility. We use a statistical study of results obtained by numerical simulations of a billiard to highlight an excessive and paradoxical loss of phase information that we solve by involving a classical to quantum transition. After discussing the pertinence of such a transition to clarify some problematic aspects of statistical physics, we conclude that a computational universe should automatically lose phase information through time in an irreversible way, which could be compensated by a gain of physical information due to observation and decoherence.
This note reframes the quantum measurement problem as a physical boundary condition rather than a dynamical or interpretive paradox. It argues that measurement corresponds to the point at which global coordination of quantum phase information becomes physically impossible due to fundamental limits imposed by relativistic causality, thermodynamic irreversibility, and information transfer constraints. Classical outcomes emerge not from wavefunction collapse or observer intervention, but because coherent quantum description cannot be sustained once synchronization demands exceed the universe’s finite coordination capacity. The work introduces measurement as a coordination breakdown, grounding the quantum–classical transition in physical realizability rather than additional postulates or modifications to quantum mechanics.
The transition from a unitary quantum superposition to a single, localized classical outcome — the measurement problem — is reframed as a deterministic thermodynamic phase transition driven by informational density gradients. Building on Wheeler’s “it from bit” and Landauer’s principle, we treat the vacuum as a high‑density computational lattice. We introduce the Principle of Fundamental Binary Duality, asserting that every physical state is intrinsically coupled to a conjugate partner, and we derive a Critical Instantiation Threshold (HcritHcrit) — the exact environmental entropy required to break this coupling and force classical localization. Applying the threshold across the Standard Model reveals a mass‑decoherence scaling law: lighter particles resist instantiation far more strongly than heavy ones. For macroscopic objects, the ambient entropy of the cosmic background overwhelms the threshold by eighteen orders of magnitude, permanently enforcing classical determinism without observers or branching worlds. The framework provides a strictly mechanical, parameter‑free resolution of the measurement problem.
This paper presents a rigorous information-theoretic framework for analyzing quantum decoherence and the mechanism of inertial rest mass generation within open quantum systems. We model spacetime as a primary non-local informational continuum of pure states, structurally regulated by an intrinsic Planck-scale decoherence mechanism operating as a stochastic microstate filter. The transition to a discrete macroscopic reality is formalized via a linear, regularized quantum master equation in the Lindblad form, which successfully eliminates unphysical divergences at the informational saturation limit. We demonstrate that the emergence of inertial rest mass and macroscopic classical inertia is a direct thermodynamic consequence of the cumulative quantized algorithmic information deficit (DbD_bDb​), acting as an information debt quantified in Shannon bits. In accordance with Landauer's principle, this debt enforces a specific thermodynamic heat penalty during state reconfiguration against the invariant Planck temperature of the vacuum substrate. Furthermore, the Cosmic Neutrino Background (CNB) is established as a fundamental physical substrate responsible for global phase synchronization and continuous local entropy calibration via the maximum Quantum Zeno Effect.
The quantum measurement problem, the unresolved conflict between the unitary evolution of the wave function and the postulate of wave function collapse, remains the most profound conceptual challenge in quantum foundations. While environment-induced decoherence provides a compelling practical mechanism for the appearance of collapse, it does not resolve the fundamental issue of the observer's own quantum state. This work moves beyond philosophical discourse by introducing a novel computational framework to simulate a fully unitary universe comprising a quantum system (Q), a decohering environment (E), and a model physical observer (O). We strictly forbid the collapse axiom. Our simulations investigate whether a definite, classical measurement outcome can emerge objectively within O's state. The results demonstrate that objective classicality can emerge from unitary dynamics, challenging the necessity of the measurement postulate and providing a computational pathway toward resolving the quantum measurement problem.
Since its emergence, quantum mechanics has been a challenge for an understanding of reality which is based on our intuition in a classical world. Nevertheless, it has often been tried to impose this understanding of reality on quantum theory - with limited success. Instead, it might be a better alternative to redefine the meaning of physical reality. This is the objective of the paper. A consideration of the quantum measurement process, conditional probabilities and some well-known typical quantum physical experiments provides the reasoning for the following three hypotheses: (1) Prior to a first measurement, a physical system is not in a quantum state. (2) Physical reality is all that and only that about which (classical) information is available in the universe. (3) Information creation is an independent process and is not covered by the Schroedinger equation. It is the first step of the quantum measurement process and does not have a classical counterpart. The first hypothesis makes sense only if the quantum measurement process can be described without presupposing an initial state for the system under consideration. This becomes possible by the objective conditional probabilities which represent the transition probabilities between the outcomes of successive quantum measurements and have been introduced by the author in some recent papers. The second hypothesis holds as well in the classical case, but a certain incompleteness of reality is typical of quantum mechanics and the origin of many quantum phenomena. Classically, the existence of a complete reality is presumed, and hypothesis 3 has no meaning then.