dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe quantum measurement problem as a witness to "It from bit"
| Authors | R. Srikanth |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0601062 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0601062 |
Abstract
A conceptual difficulty in the foundations of quantum mechanics is the quantum measurement problem (QMP), essentially concerned with the apparent non-unitarity of the measurement process and the classicality of macroscopic systems. In an information theoretic approach proposed by us earlier (Quantum Information Processing 2, 153, 2003), which we clarify and elaborate here, QMP is understood to signal a fundamental finite resolution of quantum states, or, equivalently, a discreteness of Hilbert space. This was motivated by the notion that physical reality is a manifestation of information stored and discrete computations performed at a deeper, sub-physical layer. This model entails that states of sufficiently complex, entangled systems will be unresolvable, or, {\em computationally unstable}. Wavefunction collapse is postulated as an error preventive response to such computational instability. In effect, sufficiently complex systems turn classical because of the finiteness of the computational resources available to the physical universe. We show that this model forms a reasonable complement to decoherence for resolving QMP, both in respect of the problem of definite outcomes and of the preferred basis problem. The model suggests that QMP, as a window on the sub-physical universe, serves as a witness to Wheeler's koan ``it from bit''. Some implications for quantum computation and quantum gravity are examined.
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"abstract": "A conceptual difficulty in the foundations of quantum mechanics is the\nquantum measurement problem (QMP), essentially concerned with the apparent\nnon-unitarity of the measurement process and the classicality of macroscopic\nsystems. In an information theoretic approach proposed by us earlier (Quantum\nInformation Processing 2, 153, 2003), which we clarify and elaborate here, QMP\nis understood to signal a fundamental finite resolution of quantum states, or,\nequivalently, a discreteness of Hilbert space. This was motivated by the notion\nthat physical reality is a manifestation of information stored and discrete\ncomputations performed at a deeper, sub-physical layer. This model entails that\nstates of sufficiently complex, entangled systems will be unresolvable, or,\n{\\em computationally unstable}. Wavefunction collapse is postulated as an error\npreventive response to such computational instability. In effect, sufficiently\ncomplex systems turn classical because of the finiteness of the computational\nresources available to the physical universe. We show that this model forms a\nreasonable complement to decoherence for resolving QMP, both in respect of the\nproblem of definite outcomes and of the preferred basis problem. The model\nsuggests that QMP, as a window on the sub-physical universe, serves as a\nwitness to Wheeler\u0027s koan ``it from bit\u0027\u0027. Some implications for quantum\ncomputation and quantum gravity are examined.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0601062",
"authors": [
"R. Srikanth"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"title": "The quantum measurement problem as a witness to \"It from bit\"",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0601062"
},
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