Related papers: Higher-order interference and single-system postul…
It is a fundamental prediction of quantum theory that states of physical systems are described by complex vectors or density operators on a Hilbert space. However, many experiments admit effective descriptions in terms of other state…
A remarkable feature of quantum theory is that particles with identical intrinsic properties must be treated as indistinguishable if the theory is to give valid predictions. In the quantum formalism, indistinguishability is expressed via…
We present a reconstruction of finite-dimensional quantum theory where all of the postulates are stated in diagrammatic terms, making them intuitive. Equivalently, they are stated in category-theoretic terms, making them mathematically…
The consistent histories formulation of the quantum theory of a closed system with pure initial state defines an infinite number of incompatible consistent sets, each of which gives a possible description of the physics. We investigate the…
In this conceptual paper, we discuss quantum formalisms which do not use the famous Axiom of Choice. We also consider the fundamental problem which addresses the (in)correctness of having the complex numbers as the base field for Hilbert…
We argue that quantum mechanics makes sense without such controversial postulates as the wave function collapse, the quantum probability rule and the observable postulate. We only need the existence of a wave function as a representation of…
Quantum bits can be isolated to perform useful information-theoretic tasks, even though physical systems are fundamentally described by very high-dimensional operator algebras. This is because qubits can be consistently embedded into…
Basic concepts of quantum theory of information, principles of quantum calculations and the possibility of creation on this basis unique on calculation power and functioning principle device, named quantum computer, are briefly reviewed.…
The tensor product postulate of quantum mechanics states that the Hilbert space of a composite system is the tensor product of the components' Hilbert spaces. All current formalizations of quantum mechanics that do not contain this…
The standard presentation of the principles of quantum mechanics is critically reviewed both from the experimental/operational point and with respect to the request of mathematical consistency and logical economy. A simpler and more…
We propose an improved scheme of perturbation theory based on our exact solution [An Min Wang, quant-ph/0611216] in general quantum systems independent of time. Our elementary start-point is to introduce the perturbing parameter as late as…
There is a unique finite group that lies inside the 2-dimensional unitary group but not in the special unitary group, and maps by the symmetric square to an irreducible subgroup of the 3-dimensional real special orthogonal group. In an…
In spite of the interference manifested in the double-slit experiment, quantum theory predicts that a measure of interference defined by Sorkin and involving various outcome probabilities from an experiment with three slits, is identically…
Born's rule, one of the cornerstones of quantum mechanics, relates detection probabilities to the modulus square of the wave function. Single-particle interference is accordingly limited to pairs of quantum paths and higher-order…
Quantum theory does not only predict probabilities, but also relative phases for any experiment, that involves measurements of an ensemble of systems at different moments of time. We argue, that any operational formulation of quantum theory…
We present an approach for teaching quantum physics at high school level based on the simplest quantum system - the single quantum bit (qubit). We show that many central concepts of quantum mechanics, including the superposition principle,…
In order to find a physical axiomatization of quantum theory, physical theories are often considered as a special case of a much more general framework of generalized probabilistic theories. We first present a detailed introduction to…
We reconstruct the explicit formalism of qubit quantum theory from elementary rules on an observer's information acquisition. Our approach is purely operational: we consider an observer O interrogating a system S with binary questions and…
The theory of second order phase transitions is one of the foundations of modern statistical mechanics and condensed matter theory. A central concept is the observable `order parameter', whose non-zero average value characterizes one or…
It is difficult to extract reliable criteria for causal locality from the limited ingredients found in textbook quantum theory. In the end, Bell humbly warned that his eponymous theorem was based on criteria that "should be viewed with the…