Preciously given rules allow conscious systems to be included in quantum mechanical systems. There rules are derived from the empirical experience of an observer who witnesses a quantum mechanical interaction leading to the capture of a single particle. In the present paper it is shown that purely classical changes experienced by an observer are consistent with these rules. Three different interactions are considered, two of which combine classical and quantum mechanical changes. The previously given rules support all of these cases. Key Words: brain states, conscious observer, detector, measurement, probability current, state reduction, von Neumann, wave collapse.
It is argued on the basis of certain mathematical characteristics that classical mechanics is not constitutionally suited to accomodate consciousness, whereas quantum mechanics is. These mathematical characteristics pertain to the nature of the information represented in the state of the brain, and the way this information enters into the dynamics.
A simple toy model is proposed that would allow conscious perceptions to be either classical (perceptions of objects without large quantum uncertainties or variances) or highly quantum (e.g., having large variances in the perceived position within a single perception), and yet for which plausible quantum states exhibiting Quantum Darwinism would lead to much higher measures for the classical perceptions.
In the present work, quantum theory is founded on the framework of consciousness, in contrast to earlier suggestions that consciousness might be understood starting from quantum theory. The notion of streams of consciousness, usually restricted to conscious beings, is extended to the notion of a Universal/Global stream of conscious flow of ordered events. The streams of conscious events which we experience constitute sub-streams of the Universal stream. Our postulated ontological character of consciousness also consists of an operator which acts on a state of potential consciousness to create …
This is the final paper in a series that considers the rules of engagement between conscious states and physiological states. In this paper, we imagine that an endogenous quantum mechanical superposition is created by a classical stimulus, and that this leads to a `physiological pulse' of states that are in superposition with one another. This pulse is correlated with a `conscious pulse' of the kind discussed in a previous paper (Conscious Pulse I). We then add a rule (5) to the four rules previously given. This rule addresses the effect of `pain' consciousness on both of these pulses, and in …
Conceptual problems in quantum mechanics result from the specific quantum concept of reality and require, for their solution, including the observer's consciousness into quantum theory of measurements. Most naturally this is achieved in the framework of Everett's "many-worlds interpretation" of quantum mechanics. According to this interpretation, various classical alternatives are perceived by consciousness separately from each other. In the Extended Everett Concept (EEC) proposed by the present author, the separation of the alternatives is identified with the phenomenon of consciousness. This…
The human mind is constituted by inner, subjective, private, first-person conscious experiences that cannot be measured with physical devices or observed from an external, objective, public, third-person perspective. The qualitative, phenomenal nature of conscious experiences also cannot be communicated to others in the form of a message composed of classical bits of information. Because in a classical world everything physical is observable and communicable, it is a daunting task to explain how an empirically unobservable, incommunicable consciousness could have any physical substrates such a…
Epistemological consequences of quantum nonlocality (entanglement) are discussed under the assumption of a universally valid Schrödinger equation in the absence of hidden variables. This leads inevitably to a {\it many-minds interpretation}. The recent foundation of quasi-classical neural states in the brain (based on environmental decoherence) permits in principle a formal description of the whole chain of measurement interactions, including the {\it behavior} of conscious observers, without introducing any intermediate classical concepts (for macroscopic "pointer states") or "observables" (f…
What It Is Like To Be A Quantum Computer: A Closed Quantum Global Workspace -- Conscious Access and Integration as Correlation Dynamics in Hilbert Space
I wish to discuss a large, interwoven set of topics pointed at in the title above. Much of what I say is highly speculative, some is testable, some is, at present, surely not. It is, I hope, useful, to set these ideas forth for our consideration. What I shall say assumes quantum measurement is real, and that Bohm's interpretation of Quantum Mechanics is not true. The Stalemate: In our contemporary neurobiology and much of the philosophy of mind post Descartes we are classical physics machines and either mindless, or mind is at best epiphenomenal and can have no consequences for the physical wo…
As time advances in our perceived real world, existing information is preserved and new information is added to history. All the information that may ever be encoded in history must be about some fundamental, unique, atemporal and pre-physical structure: the bare world. Scientists invent model worlds to efficiently explain aspects of the real world. This paper explores the features of and relationships between the bare, real, and model worlds. Time -- past, present and future -- is naturally explained. Both quantum uncertainty and state reduction are needed for time to progress, since unpredic…
The brain is composed of electrically excitable neuronal networks regulated by the activity of voltage-gated ion channels. Further portraying the molecular composition of the brain, however, will not reveal anything remotely reminiscent of a feeling, a sensation or a conscious experience. In classical physics, addressing the mind-brain problem is a formidable task because no physical mechanism is able to explain how the brain generates the unobservable, inner psychological world of conscious experiences and how in turn those conscious experiences steer the underlying brain processes toward des…
We examine the hypothesis that consciousness can be understood as a state of matter, "perceptronium", with distinctive information processing abilities. We explore five basic principles that may distinguish conscious matter from other physical systems such as solids, liquids and gases: the information, integration, independence, dynamics and utility principles. If such principles can identify conscious entities, then they can help solve the quantum factorization problem: why do conscious observers like us perceive the particular Hilbert space factorization corresponding to classical space (rat…
Replies are given to arguments advanced in this journal that claim to show that it is to nonlinear classical mechanics rather than quantum mechanics that one must look for the physical underpinnings of consciousness.
A minimal approach to the measurement problem and the quantum-to-classical transition assumes a universally valid quantum formalism, i.e. unitary time evolution governed by a Schrödinger-type equation. As had been pointed out long ago, in this view the measurement process can be described by decoherence which results in a "Many-Worlds" or "Many-Minds" scenario according to Everett and Zeh. A silent assumption for decoherence to proceed is however, that there exists incomplete information about the environment our object system gets entangled with in the measurement process. This paper addresse…
Difficulties and discomfort with the interpretation of quantum mechanics are due to differences in language between it and classical physics. Analogies to The Special Theory of Relativity, which also required changes in the basic worldview and language of non-relativistic classical mechanics, may help in absorbing the changes called for by quantum physics. There is no need to invoke extravagances such as the many worlds interpretation or specify a central role for consciousness or neural microstructures. The simple, but basic, acceptance that what is meant by the state of a physical system is …
We explore definite theoretical assertions about consciousness, starting from a non-reductive psycho-informational solution of David Chalmers's 'hard problem', based on the hypothesis that a fundamental property of 'information' is its experience by the supporting 'system'. The kind of information involved in consciousness needs to be quantum for multiple reasons, including its intrinsic privacy and its power of building up thoughts by entangling qualia states. As a result we reach a quantum-information-based panpsychism, with classical physics supervening on quantum physics, quantum physics s…
In this work simple and effective quantization procedure of classical dynamical systems is proposed and illustrated by a number of examples. The procedure is based entirely on differential equations which describe time evolution of systems.
Using a nonlinear Schrödinger equation for the wave function of all systems, continuous transitions between quantum and classical motions are demonstrated for (i) the double-slit set up, (ii) the 2D harmonic oscillator and (iii) the hydrogen-like atom, all of which are of empirical interest.
Recent theoretical and experimental papers support the prevailing opinion that large warm systems will rapidly lose quantum coherence, and that classical properties will emerge. This rapid loss of coherence would naturally be expected to block any critical role for quantum theory in explaining the interaction between our conscious experiences and the physical activities of our brains. However, there is a quantum theory of mind in which the efficacy of mental effort is not affected by decoherence effects. In this theory the effects of mental action on brain activity is achieved by a Quantum Zen…
We simulate the center of mass motion of cold atoms in a standing, amplitude modulated, laser field as an example of a system that has a classical mixed phase-space. We show a simple model to explain the momentum distribution of the atoms taken after any distinct number of modulation cycles. The peaks corresponding to a classical resonance move towards smaller velocities in comparison to the velocities of the classical resonances. We explain this by showing that, for a wave packet on the classical resonances, we can replace the complicated dynamics in the quantum Liouville equation in phase-sp…
We characterize the pointer states generated by the master equation of quantum Brownian motion and derive stochastic equations for the dynamics of their trajectories in phase space. Our method is based on a Poissonian unraveling of the master equation whose deterministic part exhibits soliton-like solutions that can be identified with the pointer states. In the semiclassical limit, their phase space trajectories turn into those of classical diffusion, yielding a clear picture of the induced quantum- classical transition.
In human consciousness perceptions are distinct or atomistic events despite being perceived by an apparently undivided inner observer. This paper applies both classical (Boolean) and quantum logic to analysis of the Liar paradox which is taken as a typical example of a self-referential negation in the perception space of an undivided observer. The conception of self-referential paradoxes is a unique ability of the human mind still lacking an explanation on the basis of logic. It will be shown that both classical and quantum logics fail to resolve the paradox because of the particle-like (atomi…
We show that the operational definition of non-classicality of a quantum state depends on the motion of the observer. We use the relativistic Unruh-DeWitt detector model to witness nonclassicality of the probed field state. It turns out that the witness based on the properties of the P-representation of the quantum state depends on the trajectory of the detector. Inertial and noninertial motion of the device have qualitatively different impact on the performance of the witness.
The motion of a magnetic spin particle in electromagnetic fields is considered on the basis of general principles of the classical relativistic theory. Alternative approaches in derivation of the equations of charge motion and spin precession, the problem of noncollinearity of the momentum and velocity of a particle with spin, the origin and the meaning of Thomas precession in dynamics of the spin particle are also considered. The correspondence principle in the spin theory is discussed.
The possibility of revealing non-classical behaviours in the dynamics of a trapped ion via measurements of the mean value of suitable operators is reported. In particular we focus on the manifestation known as `` Parity Effect\rq\rq which may be observed \emph{directly measuring} the expectation value of an appropriate correlation operator. The experimental feasibility of our proposal is discussed.
We theoretically investigate the manipulation of the motional states of trapped ground-state atoms using Rydberg dressing via nonresonant laser fields. The forces resulting from Rydberg-state interaction between dressed neighboring atoms in an array of microtraps or an optical lattice can strongly couple their motion. We show that intensity modulation of the dressing field allows to squeeze the relative motion of a pair of atoms and generate non-classical mechanical states. Extending this pairwise scheme to one-dimensional chains provides flexible control over the mechanical degrees of freedom…
While ultimately they are described by quantum mechanics, macroscopic mechanical systems are nevertheless observed to follow the trajectories predicted by classical mechanics. Hence, in the regime defining macroscopic physics, the trajectories of the correct classical motion must emerge from quantum mechanics, a process referred to as the quantum to classical transition. Extending previous work [Bhattacharya, Habib, and Jacobs, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 85}, 4852 (2000)], here we elucidate this transition in some detail, showing that once the measurement processes which affect all macroscopic syst…
Almost a century after the development of quantum mechanics, we still do not have a consensus on the process of collapse of wavefunctions. Some theories require the intervention of a conscious observer while some see it as a stochastic process, and most theories violate energy conservation. In this paper we hypothesise that the collapse of wavefunctions can be caused by interactions with other objects (macroscopic or microscopic) and energy is conserved in that process. To test various hypotheses regarding collapse of wavefunctions, we propose a model system which is the quantum analogue of a …
In this paper, we derive equations of motion for the normal-order, the symmetric-order and the antinormal-order quantum characteristic functions, applicable for general Hamiltonian systems. We do this by utilizing the `characteristic form' of both quantum states and Hamiltonians. The equations of motion we derive here are rather simple in form and in essence, and as such have a number of attractive features. As we shall see, our approach enables the descriptions of quantum and classical time evolutions in one unified language. It allows for a direct comparison between quantum and classical dyn…
We study the role of continuous measurement in the quantum to classical transition for a system with coupled internal (spin) and external (motional) degrees of freedom. Even when the measured motional degree of freedom can be treated classically, entanglement between spin and motion causes strong measurement backaction on the quantum spin subsystem so that classical trajectories are not recovered in this mixed quantum-classical regime. The measurement can extract localized quantum trajectories that behave classically only when the internal action also becomes large relative to h-bar.
Particle motion in the fields of Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher is considered in framework of the classical theory to reveal conditions admitting duality of the two configurations. Important role of orientation of the magnetic dipole moment is demonstrated. Duality becomes totally destroyed by addition of electric dipole and/or higher multipole moments. Correspondence between quantum and classical considerations is also discussed.
We extract the information of a quantum motion and decode it into a certain orbit via a single measurable quantity. Such that a quantum chaotic system can be reconstructed as a chaotic attractor. Two configurations for reconstructing this certain orbit are illustrated, which interpret quantum chaotic motions from the perspectives of probabilistic nature and the uncertainty principle, respectively. We further present a strategy to import classical chaos to a quantum system, revealing a connection between the classical and quantum worlds.
Makowski and Konkel [Phys. Rev. A 58, 4975 (1998)] have obtained certain classes of potentials which lead to identical classical and quantum Hamilton-Jacobi equations. We obtain the most general form of these potential.
The Klein-Kramers equation, governing the Brownian motion of a classical particle in quantum environment under the action of an arbitrary external potential, is derived. Quantum temperature and friction operators are introduced and at large friction the corresponding Smoluchowski equation is obtained. Introducing the Bohm quantum potential, this Smoluchowski equation is extended to describe the Brownian motion of a quantum particle in quantum environment.
Quantum Brownian motion, described by the Caldeira-Leggett model, brings insights to understand phenomena and essence of quantum thermodynamics, especially the quantum work and heat associated with their classical counterparts. By employing the phase-space formulation approach, we study the heat distribution of a relaxation process in the quantum Brownian motion model. The analytical result of the characteristic function of heat is obtained at any relaxation time with an arbitrary friction coefficient. By taking the classical limit, such a result approaches the heat distribution of the classic…
A quantum system can be driven by either sinusoidal, rectangular, or noisy signals. In the literature, these regimes are referred to as Landau-Zener-Stuckelberg-Majorana (LZSM) interferometry, latching modulation, and motional averaging, respectively. We demonstrate that these pronounced and interesting effects are also inherent in the dynamics of classical two-state systems. We discuss how such classical systems are realized using either mechanical, electrical, or optical resonators. In addition to the fundamental interest of such dynamical phenomena linking classical and quantum physics, we …
In this essay a quantum-dualistic, perspectival and synchronistic interpretation of quantum mechanics is further developed in which the classical world-from-decoherence which is perceived (decoherence) and the perceived world-in-consciousness which is classical (collapse) are not necessarily identified. Thus, Quantum Reality or "{\it unus mundus}" is seen as both i) a physical non-perspectival causal Reality where the quantum-to-classical transition is operated by decoherence, and as ii) a quantum linear superposition of all classical psycho-physical perspectival Realities which are governed b…
We study the motion of a particle in a particular magnetic field configuration both classically and quantum mechanically. For flux-free radially symmetric magnetic fields defined on circular regions, we establish that particle escape speeds depend, classically, on a gauge-fixed magnetic vector potential, and demonstrate some trajectories associated with this special type of magnetic field. Then we show that some of the geometric features of the classical trajectory (perpendicular exit from the field region, trapped and escape behavior) are reproduced quantum mechanically using a numerical meth…
We show that the geometric phase of the gyro-motion of a classical charged particle in a uniform time-dependent magnetic field described by Newton's equation can be derived from a coherent Berry phase for the coherent states of the Schroedinger equation or the Dirac equation. This correspondence is established by constructing coherent states for a particle using the energy eigenstates on the Landau levels and proving that the coherent states can maintain their status of coherent states during the slow varying of the magnetic field. It is discovered that orbital Berry phases of the eigenstates …
We discuss the connection between the out-of-time-ordered correlator and the number of harmonics of the phase-space Wigner distribution function. In particular, we show that both quantities grow exponentially for chaotic dynamics, with a rate determined by the largest Lyapunov exponent of the underlying classical dynamics, and algebraically -- linearly or quadratically -- for integrable dynamics. It is then possible to use such quantities to detect in the time domain the integrability to chaos crossover in many-body quantum systems.
We propose a spectroscopic approach to probe tiny vibrations of a nanomechanical resonator (NAMR), which may reveal classical or quantum behavior depending on the decoherence-inducing environment. Our proposal is based on the detection of the voltage-fluctuation spectrum in a superconducting transmission line resonator (TLR), which is {\it indirectly} coupled to the NAMR via a controllable Josephson qubit acting as a quantum transducer. The classical (quantum mechanical) vibrations of the NAMR induce symmetric (asymmetric) Stark shifts of the qubit levels, which can be measured by the voltage …
It has long been recognized that the dynamics of linear quantum systems is classical in the Wigner representation. Yet many conceptually important linear problems are typically analyzed using such generally applicable techniques as influence functionals and Bogoliubov transformations. In this Letter we point out that the classical equations of motion provide a simpler and more intuitive formalism for linear quantum systems. We examine the important problem of Brownian motion in the independent oscillator model, and show that the quantum dynamics is described directly and completely by a c-numb…
In this paper we present results of numerical simulation based on Prequantum Classical Statistical Field Theory (PCSFT), a model with hidden variables of the field-type reproducing probabilistic predictions of quantum mechanics (QM). PCSFT is combined with measurement theory based on detectors of the threshold type. The latter describes discrete events corresponding to the continuous fields model, PCSFT. Numerical modeling demonstrated that the classical Brownian motion (the Wiener process valued in complex Hilbert space) producing clicks when approaching the detection threshold gives probabil…
A theoretical parallel between the classical Brownian motion and quantum mechanics is explored. It is shown that, in contrast to the classical Langevin force, quantum mechanics is driven by turbulent velocity fluctuations with diffusive behavior. In the case of simultaneous action of the two stochastic sources, the quantum Brownian motion takes place, which is theoretically described as well.
We discuss the behavior of fidelity for a classically chaotic quantum system in the metallic regime. We show the existence of a critical value of the perturbation below which the exponential decay of fidelity is determined by the width of the Breit-Wigner distribution and above which the quantum decay follows the classical one which is ruled by the Lyapunov exponent. The independence of the decay {\it rate} from the perturbation strength derives from the similarity of the quantum and classical relaxation process inside the Heisenberg time scale.
Based on a calculation of neural decoherence rates, we argue that that the degrees of freedom of the human brain that relate to cognitive processes should be thought of as a classical rather than quantum system, i.e., that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the current classical approach to neural network simulations. We find that the decoherence timescales ~10^{-13}-10^{-20} seconds are typically much shorter than the relevant dynamical timescales (~0.001-0.1 seconds), both for regular neuron firing and for kink-like polarization excitations in microtubules. This conclusion disagrees w…
Based on a geometric picture, the example of free particle motion for both classical and quantum domains is considered in the tomographic probability representation. Wave functions and density operators as well as optical and symplectic tomograms are obtained as solutions of kinetic classical and quantum equations for the state tomograms. The difference of tomograms of free particle for classical and quantum states is discussed.
Motion of a non-relativistic particle on a cone with a magnetic flux running through the cone axis (a ``flux cone'') is studied. It is expressed as the motion of a particle moving on the Euclidean plane under the action of a velocity-dependent force. Probability fluid (``quantum flow'') associated with a particular stationary state is studied close to the singularity, demonstrating non trivial Aharonov-Bohm effects. For example, it is shown that near the singularity quantum flow departs from classical flow. In the context of the hydrodynamical approach to quantum mechanics, quantum potential d…
We introduce a hybrid method for dielectric-metal composites that describes the dynamics of the metallic system classically whilst retaining a quantum description of the dielectric. The time-dependent dipole moment of the classical system is mimicked by the introduction of projected equations of motion (PEOM) and the coupling between the two systems is achieved through an effective dipole-dipole interaction. To benchmark this method, we model a test system (semiconducting quantum dot-metal nanoparticle hybrid). We begin by examining the energy absorption rate, showing agreement between the PEO…
We present a detailed derivation and numerical tests of a new mixed quantum-classical scheme to deal with non-adiabatic processes. The method is presented as the zero-th order approximation to the exact coupled dynamics of electrons and nuclei offered by the factorization of the electron-nuclear wave function [A. Abedi, N. T. Maitra and E. K. U. Gross, Phys. Rev. Lett., 105 (2010)]. Numerical results are presented for a model system for non-adiabatic charge transfer in order to test the performance of the method and to validate the underlying approximations.
In the usual approaches to mechanics (classical or quantum) the primary object of interest is the Hamiltonian, from which one tries to deduce the solutions of the equations of motion (Hamilton or Schrödinger). In the present work we reverse this paradigm and view the motions themselves as being the primary objects. This is made possible by studying arbitrary phase space motions, not of points, but of (small) ellipsoids with the requirement that the symplectic capacity of these ellipsoids is preserved. This allows us to guide and control these motions as we like. In the classical case these ell…
The motion of a conducting electron in a quantum dot with one or several dislocations in the underlying crystal lattice is considered in the continuum picture, where dislocations are represented by torsion of space. The possible effects of torsion are investigated on the levels of classical motion, non-relativistic quantum motion, and spin-torsion coupling terms derivable in the non-relativistic limit of generalizations of the Dirac equation in a space with torsion. Finally, phenomenological spin-torsion couplings analogous to Pauli terms are considered in the non-relativistic equations. Diffe…
New method of quantization is presented. It is based on classical Newton-Lagrange equations of motion (representing the fundamental physical law of mechanics) rather than on their traditional Lagrangian and/or Hamiltonian precursors. It is shown that classical dynamics is governed by canonical two-form $Ω$, which embodies kinetic energy and forces acting within the system. New type of variational principle employing differential two-form $Ω$ and ''umbilical strings'' is introduced. The Feynman path integral over histories of the system is then rearranged to ''umbilical world-sheet'' functional…
