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We interpret ontological models for finite-dimensional quantum theory as functors from the category of finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces and bounded linear maps to the category of measurable spaces and Markov kernels. This uniformises…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-05-04 Alexandru Gheorghiu , Chris Heunen

Following the argument of Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph (Nature Phys. 8:476, 2012), new interest has been raised on whether one can interpret state-vectors (pure states) in a statistical way ($\psi$-epistemic theories), or if each of them…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2013-11-27 Petros Wallden

In spite of the very common opinion we show that QM is not complete and that it is possible to create prequantum models providing finer description of physical reality than QM. There exists (at least in theoretical models) dispersion free…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Andrei Khrennikov

The most irreducible way to represent information is a sequence of two symbols. In this paper, we construct quantum states using this basic building block. Specifically, we show that the probabilities that arise in quantum theory can be…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-01-28 Sam Powers , Guangpeng Xu , Herbert Fotso , Tim Thomay , Dejan Stojkovic

During the recent developments of quantum theory it has been clarified that the observable quantities (like energy or position) may be represented by operators (with real spectra) which are manifestly non-Hermitian. The mathematical…

Standard quantum theory represents a composite system at a given time by a joint state, but it does not prescribe a joint state for a composite of systems at different times. If a more even-handed treatment of space and time is possible,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2017-10-27 Dominic Horsman , Chris Heunen , Matthew F. Pusey , Jonathan Barrett , Robert W. Spekkens

We analyze the recent no go theorem by Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph (PBR) concerning ontic and epistemic hidden variables. We define two fundamental requirements for the validity of the result. We finally compare the models satisfying the…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2012-09-13 A. Drezet

If the system is known to be in one of two non-orthogonal quantum states, $|\psi_1\rangle$ or $|\psi_2\rangle$, it is not possible to discriminate them by a single measurement due to the unitarity constraint. In a regular Hermitian quantum…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-06-08 Yaroslav Balytskyi , Manohar Raavi , Anatoliy Pinchuk , Sang-Yoon Chang

We discuss how to reconstruct quantum theory from operational postulates. In particular, the following postulates are consistent only with for classical probability theory and quantum theory. Logical Sharpness: There is a one-to-one map…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2013-03-20 Lucien Hardy

When it isn't possible to tell two distinct experimental procedures apart purely from their input/output statistics, then it seems a plausible hypothesis that the two procedures must be physically identical. We call such a hypothesis…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2021-02-17 Ravi Kunjwal

The non-Hermitian Schr\"odinger equation is re-expressed generally in the form of Hamilton's canonical equation without any approximation. Its quantization called non-Hermitian quantum field theory is discussed. By virtue of the canonical…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2020-05-22 Qi Zhang

Pusey, Barrett, and Rudolph introduce a new no-go theorem for hidden-variables models of quantum theory. We make precise the class of models targeted and construct equivalent models that evade the theorem. The theorem requires assumptions…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2012-06-29 Maximilian Schlosshauer , Arthur Fine

One of the postulates of quantum mechanics is that the Hamiltonian is Hermitian, as this guarantees that the eigenvalues are real. Recently there has been an interest in asking if $H^\dagger = H$ is a necessary condition, and has lead to…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Damien Martin

PT-symmetric quantum theory was originally proposed with the aim of extending standard quantum theory by relaxing the Hermiticity constraint on Hamiltonians. However, no such extension has been formulated that consistently describes states,…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2022-05-26 Abhijeet Alase , Salini Karuvade , Carlo Maria Scandolo

In a recent work, authors prove a yet another no-go theorem that forbids the existence of a universal probabilistic quantum protocol producing a superposition of two unknown quantum states. In this short note, we show that in the presence…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2016-09-06 Sasha Sami , Indranil Chakrabarty

In quantum foundations, there is growing interest in the program of reconstructing the quantum formalism from clear physical principles. These reconstructions are formulated in an operational framework, deriving the formalism from…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2024-10-30 Philipp Berghofer

The physical states of matter and fields are represented in the quantum theory with complex valued wavefunctions, or more generally by quantum states in an abstract linear vector space. Determining the physical nature of wavefunctions…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2025-06-12 C. S. Unnikrishnan

It is shown how to introduce a geometric description of the algebraic approach to the non-relativistic quantum mechanics. It turns out that the GNS representation provides not only symplectic but also Hermitian realization of a `quantum…

Mathematical Physics · Physics 2009-11-02 Dariusz Chruscinski , Giuseppe Marmo

Recently, it has been argued that no extension of quantum theory can have improved predictive power under a strong assumption of free choice of the experimental settings and validity of quantum mechanics. Here, under a different free choice…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2013-04-29 GianCarlo Ghirardi , Raffaele Romano

Quantum states are the key mathematical objects in quantum theory. It is therefore surprising that physicists have been unable to agree on what a quantum state truly represents. One possibility is that a pure quantum state corresponds…

Quantum Physics · Physics 2015-03-31 Matthew F. Pusey , Jonathan Barrett , Terry Rudolph