141 research outputs found
A topos for algebraic quantum theory
The aim of this paper is to relate algebraic quantum mechanics to topos
theory, so as to construct new foundations for quantum logic and quantum
spaces. Motivated by Bohr's idea that the empirical content of quantum physics
is accessible only through classical physics, we show how a C*-algebra of
observables A induces a topos T(A) in which the amalgamation of all of its
commutative subalgebras comprises a single commutative C*-algebra. According to
the constructive Gelfand duality theorem of Banaschewski and Mulvey, the latter
has an internal spectrum S(A) in T(A), which in our approach plays the role of
a quantum phase space of the system. Thus we associate a locale (which is the
topos-theoretical notion of a space and which intrinsically carries the
intuitionistic logical structure of a Heyting algebra) to a C*-algebra (which
is the noncommutative notion of a space). In this setting, states on A become
probability measures (more precisely, valuations) on S(A), and self-adjoint
elements of A define continuous functions (more precisely, locale maps) from
S(A) to Scott's interval domain. Noting that open subsets of S(A) correspond to
propositions about the system, the pairing map that assigns a (generalized)
truth value to a state and a proposition assumes an extremely simple
categorical form. Formulated in this way, the quantum theory defined by A is
essentially turned into a classical theory, internal to the topos T(A).Comment: 52 pages, final version, to appear in Communications in Mathematical
Physic
Endomorphisms and automorphisms of locally covariant quantum field theories
In the framework of locally covariant quantum field theory, a theory is
described as a functor from a category of spacetimes to a category of
*-algebras. It is proposed that the global gauge group of such a theory can be
identified as the group of automorphisms of the defining functor. Consequently,
multiplets of fields may be identified at the functorial level. It is shown
that locally covariant theories that obey standard assumptions in Minkowski
space, including energy compactness, have no proper endomorphisms (i.e., all
endomorphisms are automorphisms) and have a compact automorphism group.
Further, it is shown how the endomorphisms and automorphisms of a locally
covariant theory may, in principle, be classified in any single spacetime. As
an example, the endomorphisms and automorphisms of a system of finitely many
free scalar fields are completely classified.Comment: v2 45pp, expanded to include additional results; presentation
improved and an error corrected. To appear in Rev Math Phy
Bohrification
New foundations for quantum logic and quantum spaces are constructed by
merging algebraic quantum theory and topos theory. Interpreting Bohr's
"doctrine of classical concepts" mathematically, given a quantum theory
described by a noncommutative C*-algebra A, we construct a topos T(A), which
contains the "Bohrification" B of A as an internal commutative C*-algebra. Then
B has a spectrum, a locale internal to T(A), the external description S(A) of
which we interpret as the "Bohrified" phase space of the physical system. As in
classical physics, the open subsets of S(A) correspond to (atomic)
propositions, so that the "Bohrified" quantum logic of A is given by the
Heyting algebra structure of S(A). The key difference between this logic and
its classical counterpart is that the former does not satisfy the law of the
excluded middle, and hence is intuitionistic. When A contains sufficiently many
projections (e.g. when A is a von Neumann algebra, or, more generally, a
Rickart C*-algebra), the intuitionistic quantum logic S(A) of A may also be
compared with the traditional quantum logic, i.e. the orthomodular lattice of
projections in A. This time, the main difference is that the former is
distributive (even when A is noncommutative), while the latter is not.
This chapter is a streamlined synthesis of 0709.4364, 0902.3201, 0905.2275.Comment: 44 pages; a chapter of the first author's PhD thesis, to appear in
"Deep Beauty" (ed. H. Halvorson
The algebra of entanglement and the geometry of composition
String diagrams turn algebraic equations into topological moves that have
recurring shapes, involving the sliding of one diagram past another. We
individuate, at the root of this fact, the dual nature of polygraphs as
presentations of higher algebraic theories, and as combinatorial descriptions
of "directed spaces". Operations of polygraphs modelled on operations of
topological spaces are used as the foundation of a compositional universal
algebra, where sliding moves arise from tensor products of polygraphs. We
reconstruct several higher algebraic theories in this framework.
In this regard, the standard formalism of polygraphs has some technical
problems. We propose a notion of regular polygraph, barring cell boundaries
that are not homeomorphic to a disk of the appropriate dimension. We define a
category of non-degenerate shapes, and show how to calculate their tensor
products. Then, we introduce a notion of weak unit to recover weakly degenerate
boundaries in low dimensions, and prove that the existence of weak units is
equivalent to a representability property.
We then turn to applications of diagrammatic algebra to quantum theory. We
re-evaluate the category of Hilbert spaces from the perspective of categorical
universal algebra, which leads to a bicategorical refinement. Then, we focus on
the axiomatics of fragments of quantum theory, and present the ZW calculus, the
first complete diagrammatic axiomatisation of the theory of qubits.
The ZW calculus has several advantages over ZX calculi, including a
computationally meaningful normal form, and a fragment whose diagrams can be
read as setups of fermionic oscillators. Moreover, its generators reflect an
operational classification of entangled states of 3 qubits. We conclude with
generalisations of the ZW calculus to higher-dimensional systems, including the
definition of a universal set of generators in each dimension.Comment: v2: changes to end of Chapter 3. v1: 214 pages, many figures;
University of Oxford doctoral thesi
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