dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaCoordinating quantum agents' perspectives: convex operational theories, quantum information, and quantum foundations
| Authors | Howard Barnum |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0611110 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0611110 |
Abstract
In this paper, I propose a project of enlisting quantum information science as a source of task-oriented axioms for use in the investigation of operational theories in a general framework capable of encompassing quantum mechanics, classical theory, and more. Whatever else they may be, quantum states of systems are compendia of probabilities for the outcomes of possible operations we may perform on the systems: ``operational theories.'' I discuss appropriate general frameworks for such theories, in which convexity plays a key role. Such frameworks are appropriate for investigating what things look like from an ``inside view,'' i.e. for describing perspectival information that one subsystem of the world can have about another. Understanding how such views can combine, and whether an overall ``geometric'' picture (``outside view'') coordinating them all can be had, even if this picture is very different in nature from the structure of the perspectives within it, is the key to understanding whether we may be able to achieve a unified, ``objective'' physical view in which quantum mechanics is the appropriate description for certain perspectives, or whether quantum mechanics is truly telling us we must go beyond this ``geometric'' conception of physics. The nature of information, its flow and processing, as seen from various operational persepectives, is likely to be key to understanding whether and how such coordination and unification can be achieved.
{
"annotation_id": "193de9eb-9803-483b-9551-1a7c62ba9ac1",
"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:02:31.141000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:02:31.141000Z",
"file_hash": "24c05083ed9ff23b86fda450a25a4a97e136af6a59c0df9bd07725116146b88b",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "In this paper, I propose a project of enlisting quantum information science\nas a source of task-oriented axioms for use in the investigation of operational\ntheories in a general framework capable of encompassing quantum mechanics,\nclassical theory, and more. Whatever else they may be, quantum states of\nsystems are compendia of probabilities for the outcomes of possible operations\nwe may perform on the systems: ``operational theories.\u0027\u0027 I discuss appropriate\ngeneral frameworks for such theories, in which convexity plays a key role. Such\nframeworks are appropriate for investigating what things look like from an\n``inside view,\u0027\u0027 i.e. for describing perspectival information that one\nsubsystem of the world can have about another. Understanding how such views can\ncombine, and whether an overall ``geometric\u0027\u0027 picture (``outside view\u0027\u0027)\ncoordinating them all can be had, even if this picture is very different in\nnature from the structure of the perspectives within it, is the key to\nunderstanding whether we may be able to achieve a unified, ``objective\u0027\u0027\nphysical view in which quantum mechanics is the appropriate description for\ncertain perspectives, or whether quantum mechanics is truly telling us we must\ngo beyond this ``geometric\u0027\u0027 conception of physics. The nature of information,\nits flow and processing, as seen from various operational persepectives, is\nlikely to be key to understanding whether and how such coordination and\nunification can be achieved.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0611110",
"authors": [
"Howard Barnum"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"title": "Coordinating quantum agents\u0027 perspectives: convex operational theories, quantum information, and quantum foundations",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0611110"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "5515b5ba-4875-4736-b03b-e992f443b5f2",
"id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}