A realistic axiomatic formulation of Galilean Quantum Field Theories is presented, from which the most important theorems of the theory can be deduced. In comparison with others formulations, the formal aspect has been improved by the use of certain mathematical theories, such as group theory and the theory of rigged Hilbert spaces. Our approach regards the fields as real things with symmetry properties. The general structure is analyzed and contrasted with relativistic theories.
A realistic axiomatic formulation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics for a single microsystem with spin is presented, from which the most important theorems of the theory can be deduced. In comparison with previous formulations, the formal aspect has been improved by the use of certain mathematical theories, such as the theory of equipped spaces, and group theory. The standard formalism is naturally obtained from the latter, starting from a central primitive concept: the Galilei group.
We present an axiomatization of non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics for a system with an arbitrary number of components. The interpretation of our system of axioms is realistic and objective. The EPR paradox and its relation with realism is discussed in this framework. It is shown that there is no contradiction between realism and recent experimental results.
A realistic physical axiomatic approach of the relativistic quantum field theory is presented. Following the action principle of Schwinger, a covariant and general formulation is obtained. The correspondence principle is not invoked and the commutation relations are not postulated but deduced. The most important theorems such as spin-statistics, and CPT are proved. The theory is constructed form the notion of basic field and system of basic fields. In comparison with others formulations, in our realistic approach fields are regarded as real things with symmetry properties. Finally, the general…
We propose four information-theoretic axioms for the foundations of statistical mechanics in general physical theories. The axioms---Causality, Purity Preservation, Pure Sharpness, and Purification---identify a class of theories where every mixed state can be modelled as the marginal of a pure entangled state and where every unsharp measurement can be modelled as a sharp measurement on a composite system. This class of theories, called sharp theories with purification, includes quantum theory both with complex and real amplitudes, as well as a suitable extension of classical probability theory…
Quantum information theorists have created axiomatic reconstructions of quantum mechanics (QM) that are very successful at identifying precisely what distinguishes quantum probability theory from classical and more general probability theories in terms of information-theoretic principles. Herein, we show how one such principle, Information Invariance & Continuity, at the foundation of those axiomatic reconstructions maps to "no preferred reference frame" (NPRF, aka "the relativity principle") as it pertains to the invariant measurement of Planck's constant h for Stern-Gerlach (SG) spin measure…
This thesis develops the theory of effectuses as a categorical axiomatic approach to quantum theory. It provides a comprehensive introduction to effectus theory and reveals its connections with various other topics and approaches.
Axiomatic quantum field theory (QFT) provides a rigorous mathematical foundation for QFT, and it is the basis for proving some important general results, such as the well-known spin-statistics theorem. Free-field QFT meets the axioms of axiomatic QFT, showing they are consistent. Nevertheless, even after more than 50 years, there is still no known non-trivial theory of quantum fields with interactions in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime that meets the same axioms. This paper provides a similar axiomatic basis for parameterized QFT, in which an invariant, fifth path parameter is added to th…
Hoare logic is a foundation of axiomatic semantics of classical programs and it provides effective proof techniques for reasoning about correctness of classical programs. To offer similar techniques for quantum program verification and to build a logical foundation of programming methodology for quantum computers, we develop a full-fledged Hoare logic for both partial and total correctness of quantum programs. It is proved that this logic is (relatively) complete by exploiting the power of weakest preconditions and weakest liberal preconditions for quantum programs.
The purpose of this paper is to survey some topics on mathematical foundations of quantum information developed mainly by the present author and co-workers for the last three decades. The topics include an axiomatic construction of quantum measurement theory based on completely positive map-valued measures, a universally valid new formulation of the uncertainty principle for error and disturbance in quantum measurements, the Wigner-Araki-Yanase limit of quantum measurements, the accuracy limit of quantum computing based on conservation laws, and a quantum interpretation based on quantum set th…
The aim of this article is to represent the general description of an entity by means of its states, contexts and properties. The entity that we want to describe does not necessarily have to be a physical entity, but can also be an entity of a more abstract nature, for example a concept, or a cultural artifact, or the mind of a person, etc..., which means that we aim at very general description. The effect that a context has on the state of the entity plays a fundamental role, which means that our approach is intrinsically contextual. The approach is inspired by the mathematical formalisms tha…
Our aim in this paper is to take quite seriously Heinz Post's claim that the non-individuality and the indiscernibility of quantum objects should be introduced right at the start, and not made a posteriori by introducing symmetry conditions. Using a different mathematical framework, namely, quasi-set theory, we avoid working within a label-tensor-product-vector-space-formalism, to use Redhead and Teller's words, and get a more intuitive way of dealing with the formalism of quantum mechanics, although the underlying logic should be modified. Thus, this paper can be regarded as a tentative to fo…
Authoritative appraisals qualified this book as an axiomatic theory. However, being its essential content no more than an analogy, its theoretical organization cannot be an axiomatic one. In fact, in the first edition Dirac declares to avoid an axiomatic presentation. Moreover, I show that the text is aimed at solving a basic problem: How quantum mechanics is similar to classical mechanics. A previous paper analyzed all past theories of physics, chemistry and mathematics, presented by the respective authors in a non-axiomatic way. Four characteristic features of a new model of organizing a the…
In this sequence of papers, noncommutative analysis is used to give a consistent axiomatic approach to a unified conceptual foundation of classical and quantum physics. The present Part I defines the concepts of observables, states and ensembles, clarifies the logical relations and operations for them, and shows how they give rise to dynamics and probabilities. States are identified with maximal consistent sets of weak equalities in the algebra of observables (instead of, as usual, with the rays in a Hilbert space). This leads to a concise foundation of quantum mechanics, free of undefined ter…
Despite the impressive amount of literature on the foundations of quantum mechanics, the relevance of symmetry in interpretation is not properly acknowledged. In fact, although it is usually said that quantum mechanics is invariant under the Galilean group, the invariance is usually not discussed in the case of the interpretation of the theory. This situation is particularly pressing for realist positions, which want to know how reality would be if quantum mechanics were true. From a realist perspective, it seems reasonable to require that an interpretation of quantum mechanics, to be admissib…
Mathematical tools related to coherence theory and classical-quantum equivalence, due to Wigner and Glauber, are essential to modern, practical and empirical understanding of electromagnetics in areas like quantum optics and nanoelectronics. This paper specifies how an extension of these same tools (especially Glauber's "Q" mapping) can be applied to strong nuclear forces as well, and provides a "bottom-up" approach to axiomatic unification of physics, grounded in empirical reality (dice included). The Q hypothesis also has implications for quantum measurement and quantum information technolog…
We review a recent approach to the foundations of quantum mechanics inspired by quantum information theory. The approach is based on a general framework, which allows one to address a large class of physical theories which share basic information-theoretic features. We first illustrate two very primitive features, expressed by the axioms of causality and purity-preservation, which are satisfied by both classical and quantum theory. We then discuss the axiom of purification, which expresses a strong version of the Conservation of Information and captures the core of a vast number of protocols i…
Brussels Free University(布鲁塞尔自由大学);Laboratorio di Autoricerca di Base(基础自主研究实验室);School of Management and Institute IQSCS(管理学院与IQSCS研究所)
The scientific community is becoming more and more interested in the research that applies the mathematical formalism of quantum theory to model human decision-making. In this paper, we provide the theoretical foundations of the quantum approach to cognition that we developed in Brussels. These foundations rest on the results of two decade studies on the axiomatic and operational-realistic approaches to the foundations of quantum physics. The deep analogies between the foundations of physics and cognition lead us to investigate the validity of quantum theory as a general and unitary framework …
A new axiomatic characterization with a minimum of conditions for entropy as a function on the set of states in quantum mechanics is presented. Traditionally unspoken assumptions are unveiled and replaced by proven consequences of the axioms. First the Boltzmann-Planck formula is derived. Building on this formula, using the Law of Large Numbers - a basic theorem of probability theory - the von Neumann formula is deduced. Axioms used in older theories on the foundations are now derived facts.
Through the generalization of Khinchin's classical axiomatic foundation, a basis is developed for nonadditive information theory. The classical nonadditive conditional entropy indexed by the positive parameter q is introduced and then translated into quantum information. This quantity is nonnegative for classically correlated states but can take negative values for entangled mixed states. This property is used to study quantum entanglement in the parametrized Werner-Popescu-like state of an N^n-system, that is, an n-partite N-level system. It is shown how the strongest limitation on validity o…