Related papers: Why the quantum?
The logic of a physical theory reflects the structure of the propositions referring to the behaviour of a physical system in the domain of the relevant theory. It is argued in relation to classical mechanics that the propositional structure…
It is argued that the problem of interpreting quantum mechanics, and the philosophical problem of consciousness, both have their roots in the same set of misguided Cartesian assumptions. The confusions underlying those assumptions are…
Theory of quantum measurements is often classified as decision theory. An event in decision theory corresponds to the measurement of an observable. This analogy looks clear for operationally testable simple events. However, the situation is…
We give a non-technical introduction of the basic concepts of Quantum Information Theory along the distinction between possible and impossible machines. We then proceed to describe the mathematical framework of Quantum Information Theory.…
It is argued that although quantum theory isn't an absolutely deterministic theory, it is partially deterministic. The approach followed here is in the framework of the standard (Copenhagen interpretation of) quantum mechanics without any…
Quantum computing relies on processing information within a quantum system with many continuous degrees of freedom. The practical implementation of this idea requires complete control over all of the 2^n independent amplitudes of a…
Five physical assumptions are proposed that together entail the general qualitative results, including the Born rule, of non-relativistic quantum mechanics by physical and information-theoretic reasoning alone. Two of these assumptions…
Quantum information theory is closely related to quantum measurement theory because one must perform measurement to obtain information on a quantum system. Among many possible limits of quantum measurement, the simplest ones were derived…
A central feature of quantum mechanics is the non-commutativity of operators used to describe physical observables. In this article, we present a critical analysis on the role of non-commutativity in quantum theory, focusing on its…
An intense effort is being made today to build a quantum computer. Instead of presenting what has been achieved, I invoke here analogies from the history of science in an attempt to glimpse what the future might hold. Quantum computing is…
Is quantum mechanics about 'states'? Or is it basically another kind of probability theory? It is argued that the elementary formalism of quantum mechanics operates as a well-justified alternative to 'classical' instantiations of a…
Quantum cosmology is the quantum theory of the entire universe. Although strange at first sight, it is appropriate because (1) our world appears to be fundamentally quantum, (2) the classical description of gravity breaks down at…
Quantum physics is a linear theory, so it is somewhat puzzling that it can underlie very complex systems such as digital computers and life. This paper investigates how this is possible. Physically, such complex systems are necessarily…
Quantum theory is a tremendously successful physical theory, but nevertheless suffers from two serious problems: the measurement problem and the problem of interpretational underdetermination. The latter, however, is largely overlooked as a…
We stress the notion of statistical experiment, which is mandatory for quantum mechanics, and recall Ludwig's foundation of quantum mechanics, which provides the most general framework to deal with statistical experiments giving evidence…
The aim of the paper is to derive essential elements of quantum mechanics from a parametric structure extending that of traditional mathematical statistics. The main extensions, which also can be motivated from an applied statistics point…
The overarching goal of this thesis is to demonstrate that complementarity is at the heart of quantum information theory, that it allows us to make (some) sense of just what information "quantum information" refers to, and that it is useful…
How should we interpret physical theories, and especially quantum theory, if we drop the assumption that we should treat it as an exact description of the whole Universe? I expound and develop the claim that physics is about the study of…
The theory of probability and the quantum theory, the one mathematical and the other physical, are related in that each admits a number of very different interpretations. It has been proposed that the conceptual problems of the quantum…
From the philosopher's perspective, the interest in quantum computation stems primarily from the way that it combines fundamental concepts from two distinct sciences: physics (especially quantum mechanics) and computer science, each long a…