This is an attempt to create a consistent and non-trivial extension of quantum theory, describing in detail the quantum measurement process. A tentative but concrete model is presented, based on the concept of multiple observer/participators, represented by separate state vectors. The evolution is deterministic, and in the chaotic regime implies approximate adherence to the Born rule for probabilities. The model is applied in a number of contexts: simple detectors, multi-state selectors, and intermittent systems. The results are consistent with phenomenology. We also consider more speculative applications, including specific spin and position `observables.' Finally the outlook for the model is discussed, and its relation to other work.
We attempt to dissolve the measurement problem using an anthropic principle which allows us to invoke rational observers. We argue that the key feature of such observers is that they are rational (we need not care whether they are `classical' or `macroscopic' for example) and thus, since quantum theory can be expressed as a rational theory of probabilistic inference, the measurement problem is not a problem.
The measurement problem and the role of observers have plagued quantum mechanics since its conception. Attempts to resolve these have introduced anthropomorphic or non-realist notions into physics. A shift of perspective based upon process theory and utilizing methods from combinatorial games, interpolation theory and complex systems theory results in a novel realist version of quantum mechanics incorporating quasi-local, nondeterministic hidden variables that are compatible with the no-hidden variable theorems and relativistic invariance, and reproduce the standard results of quantum mechanic…
A goal of most interpretations of quantum mechanics is to avoid the apparent intrusion of the observer into the measurement process. Such intrusion is usually seen to arise because observation somehow selects a single actuality from among the many possibilities represented by the wavefunction. The issue is typically treated in terms of the mathematical formulation of the quantum theory. We attempt to address a different manifestation of the quantum measurement problem in a theory-neutral manner. With a version of the two-slit experiment, we demonstrate that an enigma arises directly from the r…
We give an explicit construction for a quantum observer coherently mimicking the dynamics of a cavity mode system and without any disturbance of the system's dynamics. This gives the exact analogue of the Luenberger observer used in controller design in engineering
We previously extended Luenberger's approach for observer design to the quantum case, and developed a class of coherent observers which tracks linear quantum stochastic systems in the sense of mean values. In light of the fact that the Luenberger observer is commonly and successfully applied in classical control, it is interesting to investigate the role of coherent observers in quantum feedback. As the first step in exploring observer-based coherent control, in this paper we study pole-placement techniques for quantum systems using coherent observers, and in such a fashion, poles of a closed-…
Quantum versions of control problems are often more difficult than their classical counterparts because of the additional constraints imposed by quantum dynamics. For example, the quantum LQG and quantum H infinity optimal control problems remain open. To make further progress, new, systematic and tractable methods need to be developed. This paper gives three algorithms for designing coherent observers, i.e., quantum systems that are connected to a quantum plant and their outputs provide information about the internal state of the plant. Importantly, coherent observers avoid measurements of th…
We propose that the degree of freedom of measurement by quantum mechanical observers originates in the Goldstone mode of the spontaneously broken time reparametrization symmetry. Based on the classification of quantum states by their non-unitary temporal behavior as seen in the measurement processes, we describe the concepts of the quantum mechanical observers via the time reparametrization symmetry.
Different observers do not have to agree on how they identify a quantum system. We explore a condition based on algorithmic complexity that allows a system to be described as an objective "element of reality". We also suggest an experimental test of the hypothesis that any system, even much smaller than a human being, can be a quantum mechanical observer.
Coherent feedback control of quantum systems has demonstrable advantages over measurement-based control, but so far there has been little work done on coherent estimators and more specifically coherent observers. Coherent observers are input the coherent output of a specified quantum plant, and are designed such that some subset of the observer and plant's expectation values converge in the asymptotic limit. We previously developed a class of mean tracking (MT) observers for open harmonic oscillators that only converged in mean position and momentum; Here we develop a class of covariance matri…
What is the observer's role in quantum measurement? Obviously, observers prepare the apparatus, observe and interpret the measured results. Although the observer will have a certain influence on the measurement results by setting up the measuring apparatus, we don't believe human consciousness cause reducing of wave packet; also observers are certainly required to interpret the measured results with physical meanings. We believe observers build up their experience of the external world by playing games with nature, and then "decode" the nature based on their experiences. We propose a quantum d…
Many observers can simultaneously measure different parts of an environment of a quantum system in order to find out its state. To study this problem we generalize the formalism of conditional master equations to the multiple observer case. To settle some issues of principle which arise in this context (as the state of the system and of the environment are ultimately correlated), we consider an example of a system qubit interacting through controlled nots (CNOTs) with environmental qubits. The state of the system is the easiest to find out for observers who measure in a basis of the environmen…
It is argued that Feynman's rules for evaluating probabilities, combined with von Neumann's principle of psycho-physical parallelism, help avoid inconsistencies, often associated with quantum theory. The former allows one to assign probabilities to entire sequences of hypothetical Observers' experiences, without mentioning the problem of wave function collapse.The latter limits the Observer's (e.g., Wigner's friend's) participation in a measurement to the changes produced in material objects,thus leaving his/her consciousness outside the picture.
We show that rejection of local realism in quantum mechanics can be tested by Bell-type inequalities for two observers and low-order moments of continuous and unbounded observables. We prove that one requires three observables for each observer for a maximally entangled state and two observables for a non-maximally entangled state and write down appropriate inequalities and show violation by quantum examples. Finding an example for quadratures or position and momentum is left as an open problem.
In the theory of classical statistical inference one can derive a simple rule by which two or more observers may combine {\em independently} obtained states of knowledge together to form a new state of knowledge, which is the state which would be possessed by someone having the combined information of both observers. Moreover, this combined state of knowledge can be found without reference to the manner in which the respective observers obtained their information. However, in this note we show that in general this is not possible for quantum states of knowledge; in order to combine two quantum…
In the theory of quantum dynamical filtering, one of the biggest issues is that the underlying system dynamics represented by a quantum stochastic differential equation must be known exactly in order that the corresponding filter provides an optimal performance; however, this assumption is generally unrealistic. Therefore, in this paper, we consider a class of linear quantum systems subjected to time-varying norm-bounded parametric uncertainties and then propose a robust observer such that the variance of the estimation error is guaranteed to be within a certain bound. Although in the linear c…
In order to know if the Schrodinger's cat is alive or dead without opening the box, observers have to play a game with nature. The observers have to "guess" (with degrees of belief) the state of the cat due to incomplete information; in other words, the observers' decision has to be made under uncertainty. We propose a quantum expected value theory for decision-making under uncertainty. Value operator is proposed to guide observers to choose corresponding actions based on their subjective beliefs through objective quantum world by maximizing the value from the measured historical results. The …
Complications in preparing and preserving quantum correlations stimulate recycling of a single quantum resource in information processing and communication tasks multiple times. Here, we consider a scenario involving multiple independent pairs of observers acting with unbiased inputs on a single pair of spatially separated qubits sequentially. In this scenario, we address whether more than one pair of observers can demonstrate quantum advantage in some specific $2 \rightarrow 1$ and $3 \rightarrow 1$ random access codes. Interestingly, we not only address these in the affirmative, but also ill…
We generalize $1+1$-dimensional formalism derived by Ahmadi et. al. [Phys. Rev. D \textbf{93}, 124031] to investigate an effect of relativistic acceleration on localized two-mode Gaussian quantum states in $3+1$-dimensional spacetime. The following framework is then used to analyze entanglement of the Minkowski vacuum as witnessed by two accelerating observers that move either collinearly or noncollinearly.
Interpretations of quantum theory have traditionally assumed a "Galilean" observer, a bare "point of view" implemented physically by a quantum system. This paper investigates the consequences of replacing such an informationally-impoverished observer with an observer that satisfies the requirements of classical automata theory, i.e. an observer that encodes sufficient prior information to identify the system being observed and recognize its acceptable states. It shows that with reasonable assumptions about the physical dynamics of information channels, the observations recorded by such an obse…
We analyse the wave function collapse as seem by two distinct observers (with identical detectors) in relative motion. Imposing that the measurement process demands information transfer from the system to the detectors, we note that although different observers will acquire different amount of information from their measurements due to correlations between spin and momentum variables, all of them will agree about the orthogonality of the outcomes, as defined by their own reference frame. So, in this sense, such a quantum mechanical postulate is observer invariant, however the effective efficie…
We calculate the quantum discord between two free modes of a scalar field which start in a maximally entangled state and then undergo a relative, constant acceleration. In a regime where there is no distillable entanglement due to the Unruh effect, we show that there is a finite amount of quantum discord, which is a measure of purely quantum correlations in a state, over and above quantum entanglement. Even in the limit of infinite acceleration of the observer detecting one of the modes, we provide evidence for a non-zero amount of purely quantum correlations, which might be exploited to gain …
Non-local Advantage of Quantum Coherence(NAQC) or steerability of local quantum coherence is a strong non-local resource based on coherence complementarity relations. In this work, we provide an upper bound on the number of observers who can independently steer the coherence of the observer in the other wing in a scenario where half of an entangled pair of spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ particles is shared between a single observer (Bob) in one wing and several observers (Alices) on the other, who can act sequentially and independently of each other. We consider one-parameter dichotomic POVMs for the Alic…
We consider several observers who monitor different parts of the environment of a single quantum system and use their data to deduce its state. We derive a set of conditional stochastic master equations that describe the evolution of the density matrices each observer ascribes to the system under the Markov approximation, and show that this problem can be reduced to the case of a single "super-observer", who has access to all the acquired data. The key problem - consistency of the sets of data acquired by different observers - is then reduced to the probability that a given combination of data…
The evolution of a quantum system under observation becomes retarded or even impeded. We review this ``quantum Zeno effect'' in the light of the criticism that has been raised upon a previous attempt to demonstrate it, of later reexaminations of both the projection postulate and the significance of the observations, and of the results of a recent experiment on an individual cold atom. Here, the micro-state of the quantum system gets unveiled with the observation, and the effect of measurement is no longer mixed up with dephasing the object's wave function by the reactive effect of the detectio…
The relational approach to quantum states asserts that the physical description of quantum systems is always relative to something or someone. In relational quantum mechanics (RQM) it is relative to other quantum systems, in the (neo-)Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory to measurement contexts, and in QBism to the beliefs of the agents. In contrast to the other two interpretations, in RQM any interaction between two quantum systems counts as a "measurement", and the terms "observer" and "observed system" apply to arbitrary systems. We show, in the form of a no-go theorem, that in RQM t…
Based on weak measurement technology, we propose the first three-observer dimension witness protocol in a prepare-and-measure setup. By applying the dimension witness inequality based on the quantum random access code and the nonlinear determinant value, we demonstrate that double classical dimension witness violation is achievable if we choose appropriate weak measurement parameters. Analysis of the results will shed new light on the interplay between the multi-observer quantum dimension witness and the weak measurement technology, which can also be applied in the generation of semi-device-in…
Past, present and future experimental tests of quantum nonlocality are discussed. Consequences of assuming that the state-vector collapse is a real physical phenomenon in space-time are developed. These lead to experiments feasible with today's technology.
We propose to apply the Back and Forth Nudging (BFN) method used for geophysical data assimilations to estimate the initial state of a quantum system. We consider a cloud of atoms interacting with a magnetic field while a single observable is being continuously measured over time using homodyne detection. The BFN method relies on designing an observer forward and backwards in time. The state of the BFN observer is continuously updated by the measured data and tends to converge to the systems state. The proposed estimator seems to be globally asymptotically convergent when the system is observa…
Quantum electrodynamics under conditions of distinguishability of interacting matter entities, and of controlled actions and back-actions between them, is considered. Such "mesoscopic quantum electrodynamics" is shown to share its dynamical structure with the classical stochastic electrodynamics. In formal terms, we demonstrate that all general relations of the mesoscopic quantum electrodynamics may be recast in a form lacking Planck's constant. Mesoscopic quantum electrodynamics is therefore subject to "doing quantum electrodynamics while thinking classically," allowing one to substitute esse…
In Everett's many worlds interpretation, quantum measurements are considered to be decoherence events. If so, then inexact decoherence may allow large worlds to mangle the memory of observers in small worlds, creating a cutoff in observable world size. Smaller world are mangled and so not observed. If this cutoff is much closer to the median measure size than to the median world size, the distribution of outcomes seen in unmangled worlds follows the Born rule. Thus deviations from exact decoherence can allow the Born rule to be derived via world counting, with a finite number of worlds and no …
Quantum correlation is a fundamental property which distinguishes quantum systems from classical ones, and it is also a fragile resource under projective measurement. Recently, it has been shown that a subsystem in entangled pairs can share nonlocality with multiple observers in sequence. Here we present a new steering scenario where both subsystems are accessible by multiple observers. And it is found that the two qubits in singlet state can be simultaneously steered by two sequential observers, respectively.
Observations of quantum systems carried out by finite observers who subsequently communicate their results using classical data structures can be described as "local operations, classical communication" (LOCC) observations. The implementation of LOCC observations by the Hamiltonian dynamics prescribed by minimal quantum mechanics is investigated. It is shown that LOCC observations cannot be described using decoherence considerations alone, but rather require the \textit{a priori} stipulation of a positive operator-valued measure (POVM) about which communicating observers agree. It is also show…
Given an unknown state of a qudit that has already been measured optimally, can one still extract any information about the original unknown state? Clearly, after a maximally informative measurement, the state of the system `collapses' into a post-measurement state from which the {\em{same}} observer cannot obtain further information about the original state of the system. However, the system still encodes a significant amount of information about the original preparation for a second observer who is unaware of the actions of the first one. We study how a series of independent observers can ob…
We investigate the scenario where an observer, Alice, shares a two-qubit state with an arbitrary number of observers, Bobs, via sequentially and independently recycling the qubit in possession of the first Bob. It is known that there exist entangled states which can be used to have an arbitrarily long sequence of Bobs who can violate the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) Bell inequality with the single Alice. We show that there exist entangled states that do not violate the Bell inequality and whose entanglement can be detected by an arbitrary number of Bobs by suitably choosing the entangleme…
We investigate quantum state discrimination with confidentiality. $N$ observers share a given quantum state belonging to a finite set of known states. The observers want to determine the state as accurately as possible and send a discrimination result to a receiver. However, the observers are not allowed to get any information about which state was given. $N-1$ or fewer observers might try to steal the information, but if $N$ observers coexist, the honest ones will keep the dishonest ones from doing anything wrong. Assume that the state set has a certain symmetry, or more precisely, is Abelian…
Multiple observers who independently harvest nonclassical correlations from a single physical system share the system's ability to enable quantum correlations. We show that any number of independent observers can share the preparation contextual outcome statistics enabled by state ensembles in quantum theory. Furthermore, we show that even in the presence of any amount of white noise, there exists quantum ensembles that enable such shared preparation contextuality. The findings are experimentally realised by applying sequential unsharp measurements to an optical qubit ensemble which reveals th…
Observer dependence is central to Quantum Mechanics; in particular if we associate consistent sets with observer worldviews we can think of the Consistent Histories (CH) interpretation as a formalisation of observer dependence. However we lack a theory of the observers themselves. In this paper we begin by building such a theory within General Relativity (GR), and find that this framework bears close mathematical resemblance to the treatment of consistent sets in CH. We therefore adapt the CHSH framework to identify the `gap' between the classical and quantum theories. We find that the CHSH ar…
The problem of the observer in quantum mechanics is getting new human content. The paradox of Wigner's friend and its extended versions have observers who not only observe quantum phenomena, but communicate, have memories and even super-observer powers. Observers are represented by particle paths and state memories and advanced AI has been suggested to act as an observer. There is a new call for a solid theory of the observer in quantum mechanics. Two different branches of observer theories have emerged. The purely physical one is Heisenbergian, e.g. relational quantum mechanics where the obse…
Within the framework of relativistic quantum theory, we consider the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) gedanken-experiment in which measurements of the spin are performed by moving observers. We find that the perfect anti-correlation in the same direction between the EPR pair no longer holds in the observers' frame. This does not imply a breakdown of the non-local correlation. We explicitly show that the observers must measure the spin in appropriately chosen different directions in order to observe the perfect anti-correlation. This fact should be taken into account in utilizing the entangled sta…
I compare the role of the information in the classical and quantum dynamics by examining the relation between information flows in measurements and the ability of observers to reverse evolutions. I show that in the Newtonian dynamics reversibility is unaffected by the observer's retention of the information about the measurement outcome. By contrast -- even though quantum dynamics is unitary, hence, reversible -- reversing quantum evolution that led to a measurement becomes in principle impossible for an observer who keeps the record of its outcome. Thus, quantum irreversibility can result fro…
It was recently shown that, in general, the von Neumann spin entropy of fermionic particles is not invariant under Lorentz boosts. We show that an analogous result can be recovered (at the lowest order of $v^2 /c^2$) using plain nonrelativistic quantum mechanics provided one uses that energy weighs: $E=m c^2$. This should (i) help to moderate the skepticism on the observer-dependence of the spin entropy of fermionic particles, (ii) emphasize the soft relativistic nature of this result, and (iii) show that this is a particular case of a more general class of systems, since our calculation only …
The quantum Zeno paradox is fully resolved for purely indirect and incomplete measurements performed by the detectors outside the system. If the outside detectors are prepared to observe propagating signals of a decay event of an excited state in the core region, the survival probability of the state is not changed at all by the outside measurements, as long as the wavefunction of the signals does not have reflectional-wave contributions going back to the core by the outside detectors. The proof is independendent of the decay law of the survival probabilities. Just watching frequently from out…
Of late, there has been an upsurge of interest in studying the sequential sharing of various forms of quantum correlations, viz., nonlocality, preparation contextuality, coherence, and entanglement. In this work, we explore the sequential sharing of nonlocality in a quantum network. We first consider the simplest case of the two-input bilocality scenario that features two independent sources and three parties, including two edge parties and a central party. We demonstrate that in the symmetric case when the sharing is considered for both the edge parties, the nonlocality can be shared by at mo…
In this paper we give a new way to quantify the folklore notion that quantum measurements bring a disturbance to the system being measured. We consider two observers who initially assign identical mixed-state density operators to a two-state quantum system. The question we address is to what extent one observer can, by measurement, increase the purity of his density operator without affecting the purity of the other observer's. If there were no restrictions on the first observer's measurements, then he could carry this out trivially by measuring the initial density operator's eigenbasis. If, h…
Contextuality is regarded as a non-classical feature, challenging our everyday intuition; quantum contextuality is currently seen as a resource for many applications in quantum computation, being responsible for quantum advantage over classical analogs. In our work, we adapt the $N$-cycle scenarios with odd $N$ to multiple independent observers which measure the system sequentially. We analyze the possibility of violating the inequalities as a function of the number of observers and under different measurement protocols. We then reinterpret the results as an open quantum system where the envir…
In this paper we provide an experimental illustration of Page and Wootters' quantum time mechanism that is able to describe two-time quantum correlation functions. This allows us to test a Leggett-Garg inequality, showing a violation from the "internal" observer point of view. The "external" observer sees a time-independent global state. Indeed, the scheme is implemented using a narrow-band single photon where the clock degree of freedom is encoded in the photon's position. Hence, the internal observer that measures the position can track the flow of time, while the external observer sees a de…
Decoherence is an unavoidable phenomenon that results from the interaction of the system with its surroundings. The study of decoherence due to the relativistic effects has the fundamental importance. The Unruh effect is observed by the relativistically accelerator observer. The unruh effect acts as a quantum channel and we call it the Unruh Channel. The Unruh channel can be characterize by providing its Kraus representation. We consider the bipartite scheme in which the quantum information is shared between an inertial observer (Alice) and an accelerated observer (Rob) in the case of Dirac fi…
Realization of indefinite causal order (ICO), a theoretical possibility that even causal relations between physical events can be subjected to quantum superposition, apart from its general significance for the fundamental physics research, would also enable quantum information processing that outperforms protocols in which the underlying causal structure is definite. In this paper, we start with a proposition that an observer in a state of quantum superposition of being at two different relative distances from the event horizon of a black hole, effectively resides in ICO space-time generated b…
