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Quantum collapse rules from the maximum relative entropy principle

F. Hellmann, Kamiński, W., Kostecki, R.

Published Jan 1, 2016• 7 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We show that the von Neumann–Lüders collapse rules in quantum mechanics always select the unique state that maximises the quantum relative entropy with respect to the premeasurement state, subject to the constraint that the postmeasurement state has to be compatible with the knowledge gained in the measurement. This way we provide an information theoretic characterisation of quantum collapse rules by means of the maximum relative entropy principle.

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We show that the von Neumann–Lüders collapse rules in quantum mechanics always select the unique state that maximises the quantum relative entropy with respect to the premeasurement state, subject to the constraint that the postmeasurement state has to be compatible with the knowledge gained in the measurement. This way we provide an information theoretic characterisation of quantum collapse rules by means of the maximum relative entropy principle.
The quantum measurement problem, i.e., the apparent conflict between unitary quantum evolution and non-unitary, stochastic wave-function collapse, remains unresolved a century after the formulation of quantum mechanics. We first review the standard picture, from the Copenhagen prescription with its Heisenberg cut, through von Neumann's movable cut, to environment-induced decoherence, which explains the emergence of stable classical records but still presupposes the Born rule and therefore cannot by itself replace the measurement postulates. We then connect this problem to the Maximum Entropy Principle in two complementary ways. First, decoherence drives the measurement apparatus toward the least biased state compatible with the dynamically protected pointer distribution, so that the emergent collapse may be viewed as a thermodynamic relaxation toward constrained maximum entropy. Second, we propose a Timeless Histories formulation of quantum mechanics in which the primitive objects are ordered sequences of events rather than evolving wave functions. Their conditional probabilities are assigned, relative to specified refinements, by a single Born-Boltzmann rule that combines the quadratic structure of Born's rule with Boltzmann's counting of equally probable microstates. The textbook form of Born's rule, the projection postulate, density operators, and wave functions are then recovered as derived informational constructs, while collapse becomes Bayesian conditioning on recorded events. Time and space enter only subsequently through unitary translation symmetry. Since the probability rule is postulated without reference to any physical collapse or classical observer, the usual circularity of the decoherence program is avoided. Decoherence can then be invoked to explain the stability and approximate additivity of macroscopic records, i.e., the emergence of classicality.
We prove that the standard quantum mechanical description of a quantum state change due to measurement, given by Lueders' rules, is a special case of the constrained maximisation of a quantum relative entropy functional. This result is a quantum analogue of the derivation of the Bayes--Laplace rule as a special case of the constrained maximisation of relative entropy. The proof is provided for the Umegaki relative entropy of density operators over a Hilbert space as well as for the Araki relative entropy of normal states over a W*-algebra. We also introduce a quantum analogue of Jeffrey's rule, derive it in the same way as above, and discuss the meaning of these results for quantum bayesianism.
Quantum relative entropy is a core concept in physics, governing the limits of communication, thermodynamic irreversibility and quantum resource conversion. However, the requirement that physical processes cannot increase state distinguishability, the data-processing inequality, permits an infinite family of alternative divergence measures. Here we show that quantum relative entropy is uniquely selected by a sharper operational principle. We evaluate distinguishability through binary guessing games, in which an observer discriminates between pairs of quantum states using the optimal measurement. We prove that any additive measure that respects the odds revealed by these optimal measurements must coincide with the Umegaki relative entropy. This rigidity is a purely quantum phenomenon. Whereas classical theory permits a continuous family of valid divergence measures, including Rényi divergences, quantum noncommutativity. collapses this mathematical freedom. The result is exact, requiring neither a thermodynamic limit of infinitely many copies nor super-additivity assumptions for correlated states. It establishes quantum relative entropy not merely as an asymptotic quantity, but as the unique additive distinguishability measure compatible with single-shot quantum discrimination.
Quantum-state reconstruction on a finite number of copies of a quantum system with informationally incomplete measurements, as a rule, does not yield a unique result. We derive a reconstruction scheme where both the likelihood and the von Neumann entropy functionals are maximized in order to systematically select the most-likely estimator with the largest entropy, that is, the least-bias estimator, consistent with a given set of measurement data. This is equivalent to the joint consideration of our partial knowledge and ignorance about the ensemble to reconstruct its identity. An interesting structure of such estimators will also be explored.
Given the algebra of observables of a quantum system subject to selection rules, a state can be represented by different density matrices. As a result, different von Neumann entropies can be associated with the same state. Motivated by a minimality property of the von Neumann entropy of a density matrix with respect to its possible decompositions into pure states, we give a purely algebraic definition of entropy for states of an algebra of observables, thus solving the above ambiguity. The entropy so-defined satisfies all the desirable thermodynamic properties and reduces to the von Neumann entropy in the quantum mechanical case. Moreover, it can be shown to be equal to the von Neumann entropy of the unique representative density matrix belonging to the operator algebra of a multiplicity-free Hilbert-space representation.