Related papers: Reply to Andrew Hodges
For over a decade, the hypercomputation movement has produced computational models that in theory solve the algorithmically unsolvable, but they are not physically realizable according to currently accepted physical theories. While…
It is shown how all the major conceptual difficulties of standard (textbook) quantum mechanics, including the two measurement problems and the (supposed) nonlocality that conflicts with special relativity, are resolved in the consistent or…
We analyze the validity of the adiabatic approximation, and in particular the reliability of what has been called the "standard criterion" for validity of this approximation. Recently, this criterion has been found to be insufficient. We…
In this review we consider the performance of the quantum adiabatic algorithm for the solution of decision problems. We divide the possible failure mechanisms into two sets: small gaps due to quantum phase transitions and small gaps due to…
The experimentally verified violation of Bell's inequalities apparently implies that at least one of two intuitive beliefs must be false: that effects propagating at infinite velocity do not exist, and that natural phenomena occur…
According to the Gottesman-Knill theorem, quantum algorithms which utilise only the operations belonging to a certain restricted set are efficiently simulable classically. Since some of the operations in this set generate entangled states,…
An out of the box intellectual path exploring the foundations of quantum mechanics is discussed in some detail, in order to clarify why a possibly different way to look at the relevant fundamental questions can be identified and can support…
We formalize two independent computational limitations that constrain algorithmic intelligence: formal incompleteness and dynamical unpredictability. The former limits the deductive power of consistent reasoning systems while the latter…
We argue here that, as it happens in Classical and Quantum Mechanics, where it has been proven that alternative Hamiltonian descriptions can be compatible with a given set of equations of motion, the same holds true in the realm of…
The capabilities of the functional-analytic and of the functional-integral approach for the construction of the Hamiltonian as a self-adjoint operator on Hilbert space are compared in the context of non-relativistic quantum mechanics.…
Despite the unparalleled accuracy of quantum-theoretical predictions across an enormous range of phenomena, the theory's foundations are still in doubt. The theory deviates radically from classical physics, predicts counterintuitive…
Thought experiments about the physical nature of set theoretical counterexamples to the axiom of choice motivate the investigation of peculiar constructions, e.g. an infinite dimensional Hilbert space with a modular quantum logic. Applying…
For more than a century and a half it has been widely-believed (but was never rigorously shown) that the physics of diffraction imposes certain fundamental limits on the resolution of an optical system. However our understanding of what…
This dissertation investigates questions arising in the consistent histories formulation of the quantum mechanics of closed systems. Various criteria for approximate consistency are analysed. The connection between the Dowker-Halliwell…
The formalism of quantum mechanics produces spectacular results, but its rules, its parameters are empirical, either deduced from classical physics, or from experimental results rather than from the postulates. Thus, quantum mechanics is…
The foundations of quantum mechanics have been plagued by controversy throughout the 85 year history of the field. It is argued that lack of clarity in the formulation of basic philosophical questions leads to unnecessary obscurity and…
Bell's theorem supposedly demonstrates an irreconcilable conflict between quantum mechanics and local, realistic hidden variable theories. In this paper we show that all experiments that aim to prove Bell's theorem do not actually achieve…
The physics of quantum mechanics is the inspiration for, and underlies, quantum computation. As such, one expects physical intuition to be highly influential in the understanding and design of many quantum algorithms, particularly…
A consensus that questions the perfunctory use of the quantum adiabatic theorem has emerged since Marzlin and Sanders [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 93}, 160408 (2004)] showed the existence of an inconsistency in the applicability of the theorem.…
The world of mathematics is often considered abstract, with its symbols, concepts, and topics appearing unrelated to physical objects. However, it is important to recognize that the development of mathematics is fundamentally influenced by…