Arbitrary quantum states cannot be copied. In fact, to make a copy we must provide complete information about the system. However, can a quantum system self-replicate? This is not answered by the no-cloning theorem. In the classical context, Von Neumann showed that a `universal constructor' can exist which can self-replicate an arbitrary system, provided that it had access to instructions for making copy of the system. We question the existence of a universal constructor that may allow for the self-replication of an arbitrary quantum system. We prove that there is no deterministic universal quantum constructor which can operate with finite resources. Further, we delineate conditions under which such a universal constructor can be designed to operate dterministically and probabilistically.
Arbitrary quantum states cannot be copied. In fact, to make a copy we must provide complete information about the system. However, can a quantum system self-replicate? This is not answered by the no-cloning theorem. In the classical context, Von Neumann showed that a `universal constructor' can exist which can self-replicate an arbitrary system, provided that it had access to instructions for making copy of the system. We question the existence of a universal constructor that may allow for the self-replication of an arbitrary quantum system. We prove that there is no deterministic universal quantum constructor which can operate with finite resources. Further, we delineate conditions under which such a universal constructor can be designed to operate dterministically and probabilistically.
We show that using a fixed cloning machine, whether deterministic inexact or probabilistic exact, one can take an arbitrary blank state. Quantum information cannot be cloned. There cannot exist a machine which can produce two (or more) exact copies of an arbitrary state in a deterministic manner [1]. Replication is not allowed even when the input state is taken at random from a given set of two non-orthogonal states [2]. It has been further shown that probabilistic cloning is not possible if the input state is from a given linearly dependent set [3]. Henceforth we deal explicitly with qubits although all the results can be extended to higher dimensions. Although exact cloning is not possible, one can approximately clone an arbitrary input state [4, 5, 6]. In this scheme a fixed state is taken as the blank state, depending on which and the initial machine state, the cloning operation is constructed. We extend this operation such that any arbitrary (pure or mixed) state taken as the blank copy can do the job. The optimal universal 1 → 2 inexact qubit cloner of Brußet al.[5] takes an arbitrary qubit |ψ 〉 〈ψ | = 1 2 (I + − → s. − → σ) along with a fixed blank qubit |b 〉 and a machine state |M 〉 as input. An entangled state of the three qubits is produced as the output such that the reduced density matrices of the first two qubits are two similar approximate copies ρ = 1 2 (I + η− → s. − → σ) of |ψ 〉 〈ψ | with η = 2 3. The unitary operator realizing this process is defined on the combined Hilbert space of the input qubit, the blank qubit and machine by U ′ √ √
Issues of control and causation are central to the Quantum Theory of Computation. Yet there is no place for them in fundamental laws of Physics when expressed in the prevailing conception, i.e., in terms of initial conditions and laws of motion. This thesis aims at arguing that Constructor Theory, recently proposed by David Deutsch to generalise the quantum theory of computation, is a candidate to provide a theory of control and causation within Physics. To this end, I shall present a physical theory of information that is formulated solely in constructor-theoretic terms, i.e., in terms of which transformations of physical systems are possible and which are impossible. This theory solves the circularity at the foundations of existing information theory; it provides a unifying relation between classical and quantum information, revealing the single property underlying the most distinctive phenomena associated with the latter: the unpredictability of the outcomes of some deterministic processes, the lack of distinguishability of some states, the irreducible perturbation caused by measurement and the existence of locally inaccessible information in composite systems (entanglement). This thesis also aims to investigate the restrictions that quantum theory imposes on copying-like tasks. To this end, I will propose a unifying, picture-independent formulation of the no-cloning theorem. I will also discuss a protocol to accomplish the closely related task of transferring perfectly a quantum state along a spin chain, in the presence of systematic errors. Furthermore, I will address the problem of whether self-replication (as it occurs in living organisms) is compatible with Quantum Mechanics. Some physicists, notably Wigner, have argued that this logic is in fact forbidden by Quantum Mechanics, thus claiming that the latter is not a universal theory. I shall prove that those claims are invalid and that the logic of self-replication is, of course, compatible with Quantum Mechanics.
We analyze the possibility of copying (that is, cloning) arbitrary states of a quantum-mechanical spin-1/2 system. We show that there exists a ``universal quantum-copying machine'' (i.e., transformation) which approximately copies quantum-mechanical states such that the quality of its output does not depend on the input. We also examine a machine which combines a unitary transformation and a selective measurement to produce good copies of states in the neighborhood of a particular state. We discuss the problem of measurement of the output states. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Quantum theory fundamentally forbids the perfect copying of an arbitrary unknown quantum state, according to a principle known as the no-cloning theorem. Nevertheless, it is possible to construct a deterministic quantum map that produces multiple approximate copies of an unknown quantum state. This task is referred to as universal quantum cloning, further facilitating numerous quantum technologies such as quantum cryptography and quantum communication. In this work, we theoretically verify that the universal quantum cloning cannot be realized within a noncontextual theory, highlighting its intrinsically nonclassical nature. Our verification first {focuses on revealing that} 1→2 cloning scenario {is fully contextual}, and {further covers general examples to observe the contextual behavior of} N→M scenario. We believe that our results regarding quantum cloning serve a key role for understanding both quantum foundation and application.
We propose a theory of information expressed solely in terms of which transformations of physical systems are possible and which are impossible—i.e. in constructor-theoretic terms. It includes conjectured, exact laws of physics expressing the regularities that allow information to be physically instantiated. Although these laws are directly about information, independently of the details of particular physical instantiations, information is not regarded as an a priori mathematical or logical concept, but as something whose nature and properties are determined by the laws of physics alone. This theory solves a problem at the foundations of existing information theory, namely that information and distinguishability are each defined in terms of the other. It also explains the relationship between classical and quantum information, and reveals the single, constructor-theoretic property underlying the most distinctive phenomena associated with the latter, including the lack of in-principle distinguishability of some states, the impossibility of cloning, the existence of pairs of variables that cannot simultaneously have sharp values, the fact that measurement processes can be both deterministic and unpredictable, the irreducible perturbation caused by measurement, and locally inaccessible information (as in entangled systems).
A fundamental question in quantum mechanics is, whether it is possible to replicate an arbitrary unknown quantum state. Then famous quantum no-cloning theorem [Nature 299, 802 (1982)] says no to the question. But it leaves open the following question: If the state is not arbitrary, but secretly chosen from a certain set $$={ | Ψ_1> ,| Ψ_2> ,... ,| Ψ_n> } $, whether is the cloning possible? This question is of great practical significance because of its applications in quantum information theory. If the states ∣Ψ1>,∣Ψ2>,... and $| Ψ_n> $ are linearly-dependent, similar to the proof of the no-cloning theorem, the linearity of quantum mechanics forbids such replication. In this paper, we show that, if the states ∣Ψ1>,∣Ψ2>,... and $| Ψ_n> $ are linearly-independent, they do can be cloned by a unitary-reduction process.