2,636 research outputs found
Information Processing in Convex Operational Theories
AbstractIn order to understand the source and extent of the greater-than-classical information processing power of quantum systems, one wants to characterize both classical and quantum mechanics as points in a broader space of possible theories. One approach to doing this, pioneered by Abramsky and Coecke, is to abstract the essential categorical features of classical and quantum mechanics that support various information-theoretic constraints and possibilities, e.g., the impossibility of cloning in the latter, and the possibility of teleportation in both. Another approach, pursued by the authors and various collaborators, is to begin with a very conservative, and in a sense very concrete, generalization of classical probability theory – which is still sufficient to encompass quantum theory – and to ask which “quantum” informational phenomena can be reproduced in this much looser setting. In this paper, we review the progress to date in this second programme, and offer some suggestions as to how to link it with the categorical semantics for quantum processes offered by Abramsky and Coecke
Quantum oblivious transfer: a short review
Quantum cryptography is the field of cryptography that explores the quantum
properties of matter. Its aim is to develop primitives beyond the reach of
classical cryptography or to improve on existing classical implementations.
Although much of the work in this field is dedicated to quantum key
distribution (QKD), some important steps were made towards the study and
development of quantum oblivious transfer (QOT). It is possible to draw a
comparison between the application structure of both QKD and QOT primitives.
Just as QKD protocols allow quantum-safe communication, QOT protocols allow
quantum-safe computation. However, the conditions under which QOT is actually
quantum-safe have been subject to a great amount of scrutiny and study. In this
review article, we survey the work developed around the concept of oblivious
transfer in the area of theoretical quantum cryptography, with an emphasis on
some proposed protocols and their security requirements. We review the
impossibility results that daunt this primitive and discuss several quantum
security models under which it is possible to prove QOT security.Comment: 40 pages, 14 figure
How to make unforgeable money in generalised probabilistic theories
We discuss the possibility of creating money that is physically impossible to
counterfeit. Of course, "physically impossible" is dependent on the theory that
is a faithful description of nature. Currently there are several proposals for
quantum money which have their security based on the validity of quantum
mechanics. In this work, we examine Wiesner's money scheme in the framework of
generalised probabilistic theories. This framework is broad enough to allow for
essentially any potential theory of nature, provided that it admits an
operational description. We prove that under a quantifiable version of the
no-cloning theorem, one can create physical money which has an exponentially
small chance of being counterfeited. Our proof relies on cone programming, a
natural generalisation of semidefinite programming. Moreover, we discuss some
of the difficulties that arise when considering non-quantum theories.Comment: 27 pages, many diagrams. Comments welcom
Semantics for a Quantum Programming Language by Operator Algebras
This paper presents a novel semantics for a quantum programming language by
operator algebras, which are known to give a formulation for quantum theory
that is alternative to the one by Hilbert spaces. We show that the opposite
category of the category of W*-algebras and normal completely positive
subunital maps is an elementary quantum flow chart category in the sense of
Selinger. As a consequence, it gives a denotational semantics for Selinger's
first-order functional quantum programming language QPL. The use of operator
algebras allows us to accommodate infinite structures and to handle classical
and quantum computations in a unified way.Comment: In Proceedings QPL 2014, arXiv:1412.810
Finitary Topos for Locally Finite, Causal and Quantal Vacuum Einstein Gravity
Previous work on applications of Abstract Differential Geometry (ADG) to
discrete Lorentzian quantum gravity is brought to its categorical climax by
organizing the curved finitary spacetime sheaves of quantum causal sets
involved therein, on which a finitary (:locally finite), singularity-free,
background manifold independent and geometrically prequantized version of the
gravitational vacuum Einstein field equations were seen to hold, into a topos
structure. This topos is seen to be a finitary instance of both an elementary
and a Grothendieck topos, generalizing in a differential geometric setting, as
befits ADG, Sorkin's finitary substitutes of continuous spacetime topologies.
The paper closes with a thorough discussion of four future routes we could take
in order to further develop our topos-theoretic perspective on ADG-gravity
along certain categorical trends in current quantum gravity research.Comment: 49 pages, latest updated version (errata corrected, references
polished) Submitted to the International Journal of Theoretical Physic
Newton vs. Leibniz: Intransparency vs. Inconsistency
We investigate the structure common to causal theories that attempt to
explain a (part of) the world. Causality implies conservation of identity,
itself a far from simple notion. It imposes strong demands on the
universalizing power of the theories concerned. These demands are often met by
the introduction of a metalevel which encompasses the notions of 'system' and
'lawful behaviour'. In classical mechanics, the division between universal and
particular leaves its traces in the separate treatment of cinematics and
dynamics. This analysis is applied to the mechanical theories of Newton and
Leibniz, with some surprising results
Inherent Properties and Statistics with Individual Particles in Quantum Mechanics
This paper puts forward the hypothesis that the distinctive features of quantum statistics are exclusively
determined by the nature of the properties it describes. In particular, all statistically relevant properties
of identical quantum particles in many-particle systems are conjectured to be irreducible, ‘inherent’
properties only belonging to the whole system. This allows one to explain quantum statistics without
endorsing the ‘Received View’ that particles are non-individuals, or postulating that quantum systems
obey peculiar probability distributions, or assuming that there are primitive restrictions on the range of
states accessible to such systems. With this, the need for an unambiguously metaphysical explanation
of certain physical facts is acknowledged and satisfied
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