arXiv:quant-ph/0702149

An Information-Theoretic Approach to Quantum Theory, II: The Formal Rules of Quantum Theory

Philip Goyal

Published Feb 15, 2007• 1 citation

Abstract

In a companion paper (hereafter referred to as Paper I), we have presented an attempt to derive the finite-dimensional abstract quantum formalism from a set of physically comprehensible assumptions. In this paper, we formulate a correspondence principle, the Average-Value Correspondence Principle, that allows relations between measurement outcomes which are known to hold in a classical model of a system to be systematically taken over into the quantum model of the system. Using this principle, we derive the explicit form of the temporal evolution operator (thereby completing the derivation of the abstract quantum formalism begun in Paper I), and derive many of the formal rules (such as operator rules, commutation relations, and Dirac's Poisson bracket rule) that are needed to apply the abstract quantum formalism to model particular physical systems.

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0702149

Related papers

An Information-Geometric Reconstruction of Quantum Theory, II: The Correspondence Rules of Quantum Theory

Philip Goyal

In a companion paper (hereafter referred to as Paper I), we have presented an attempt to derive the finite-dimensional abstract quantum formalism within the framework of information geometry. In this paper, we formulate a correspondence principle, the Average-Value Correspondence Principle, that allows relations between measurement results which are known to hold in a classical model of a system to be systematically taken over into the quantum model of the system. Using this principle, we derive the explicit form of the temporal evolution operator (thereby completing the derivation of the abstract quantum formalism begun in Paper I), and derive many of the correspondence rules (such as operator rules, commutation relations, and Dirac's Poisson bracket rule) that are needed to apply the abstract quantum formalism to model particular physical systems.

arXiv:0805.2765May 19, 20081 citation

The Average-Value Correspondence Principle

Philip Goyal, Guillaume Adenier, Andrei Yu. Khrennikov +3 more

In previous work [1], we have presented an attempt to derive the finite‐dimensional abstract quantum formalism from a set of physically comprehensible assumptions. In this paper, we continue the derivation of the quantum formalism by formulating a correspondence principle, the Average‐Value Correspondence Principle, that allows relations between measurement outcomes which are known to hold in a classical model of a system to be systematically taken over into the quantum model of the system, and by using this principle to derive many of the correspondence rules (such as operator rules, commutation relations, and Dirac's Poisson bracket rule) that are needed to apply the abstract quantum formalism to model particular physical systems.

AIP conference proceedingsJan 1, 20070 citations

An Information-Theoretic Approach to Quantum Theory, I: The Abstract Quantum Formalism

Philip Goyal

In this paper and a companion paper, we attempt to systematically investigate the possibility that the concept of information may enable a derivation of the quantum formalism from a set of physically comprehensible postulates. To do so, we formulate an abstract experimental set-up and a set of assumptions based on generalizations of experimental facts that can be reasonably taken to be representative of quantum phenomena, and on theoretical ideas and principles, and show that it is possible to deduce the quantum formalism. In particular, we show that it is possible to derive the abstract quantum formalism for finite-dimensional quantum systems and the formal relations, such as the canonical commutation relationships and Dirac's Poisson Bracket rule, that are needed to apply the abstract formalism to particular systems of interest. The concept of information, via an information-theoretic invariance principle, plays a key role in the derivation, and gives rise to some of the central structural features of the quantum formalism.

arXiv:quant-ph/0702124Feb 13, 20074 citations

Origin of the Correspondence Rules of Quantum Theory

Philip Goyal

To apply the abstract quantum formalism to a particular physical system, one must specify the precise form of the relevant measurement and symmetry transformation operators. These operators are determined by a set of rules, the correspondence rules of quantum theory. The physical origin of these rules is obscure, and their physical interpretation and their degree of generality is presently unclear. In this paper, we show that all of the commonly-used correspondence rules can be systematically derived from a new physical principle, the Average-Value Correspondence Principle. This principle shows that the correspondence rules result from the systematic translation of relations between measurement results known to hold in a classical model of a system, providing these rules with a clear physical interpretation, and clearly demarcating their domain of applicability.

arXiv:0910.2444Oct 13, 20091 citation

Derivation of quantum theory from Feynman's rules

Philip Goyal

Feynman's formulation of quantum theory is remarkable in its combination of formal simplicity and computational power. However, as a formulation of the abstract structure of quantum theory, it is incomplete as it does not account for most of the fundamental mathematical structure of the standard von Neumann--Dirac formalism such as the unitary evolution of quantum states. In this paper, we show how to reconstruct the entirety of the finite-dimensional quantum formalism starting from Feynman's rules with the aid of a single physical postulate, the no-disturbance postulate. This postulate states that a particular class of measurements have no effect on the outcome probabilities of subsequent measurements performed. We also show how it is possible to derive both the amplitude rule for composite systems of distinguishable subsystems and Dirac's amplitude-action rule, each from a single elementary and natural assumption, by making use of the fact that these assumptions must be consistent with Feynman's rules.

arXiv:1403.3527Physical Review AMar 20, 201414 citations

An alternative foundation of quantum theory

Inge Svein Helland

The final version of a new approach to quantum theory is formulated in this paper. The basis is taken to be theoretical variables, variables that may be accessible or inaccessible, i.e., it may be possible or impossible for an observer to assign arbitrarily sharp numerical values to them. In an epistemic process, the accessible variables are just ideal observations connected to an observer or to some communicating observers. Group actions are defined on these variables, and group representation theory is the basis for developing the Hilbert space formalism here. Operators corresponding to accessible theoretical variables are derived, and in the finite-dimensional case, it is proved that the possible physical values are the eigenvalues of these operators. The focus of the paper is some mathematical theorems paving the ground for the proposed foundation of quantum theory. It is indicated here that the groups and transformations needed in this approach can be constructed explicitly in the case where the accessible variables are finite-dimensional. In case, this simplifies the theory considerably: To reproduce the Hilbert space formulation, it is enough to assume the existence of two complementary variables. What is new in this version of the article, is that the assumptions given behind the main theorems are simplified considerably, and that all proofs are given explicitly or refered to in other recent papers.

arXiv:2305.06727May 11, 20233 citations