Locating Overlap Information in Quantum Systems

When discussing the black hole information problem the term ``information flow'' is frequently used in a rather loose fashion. In this article I attempt to make this notion more concrete. I consider a Hilbert space which is constructed as a tensor product of two subspaces (representing for example inside and outside the black hole). I discuss how the system has the capacity to contain information which is in NEITHER of the subspaces. I attempt to quantify the amount of information located in each of the two subspaces, and elsewhere, and analyze the extent to which unitary evolution can correspond to ``information flow''. I define the notion of ``overlap information'' which appears to be well suited to the problem.Comment: 25 pages plain LaTeX, no figures. Imperial/TP/93-94/2

Is Consciousness Intrinsic?: A Problem for the Integrated Information Theory

The Integrated Information Theory of consciousness (IIT) claims that consciousness is identical to maximal integrated information, or maximal Φ. One objection to IIT is based on what may be called the intrinsicality problem: consciousness is an intrinsic property, but maximal Φ is an extrinsic property; therefore, they cannot be identical. In this paper, I show that this problem is not unique to IIT, but rather derives from a trilemma that confronts almost any theory of consciousness. Given most theories of consciousness, the following three claims are inconsistent. INTRINSICALITY: Consciousness is intrinsic. NON-OVERLAP: Conscious systems do not overlap with other conscious systems (a la Unger’s problem of the many). REDUCTIONISM: Consciousness is constituted by more fundamental properties (as per standard versions of physicalism and Russellian monism). In view of this, I will consider whether rejecting INTRINSICALITY is necessarily less plausible than rejecting NON-OVERLAP or REDUCTIONISM. I will also consider whether IIT is necessarily committed to rejecting INTRINSICALITY or whether it could also accept solutions that reject NON-OVERLAP or REDUCTIONISM instead. I will suggest that the best option for IIT may be a solution that rejects REDUCTIONISM rather than INTRINSICALITY or NON-OVERLAP

On the origin of ultrametricity

In this paper we show that in systems where the probability distribution of the the overlap is non trivial in the infinity volume limit, the property of ultrametricity can be proved in general starting from two very simple and natural assumptions: each replica is equivalent to the others (replica equivalence or stochastic stability) and all the mutual information about a pair of equilibrium configurations is encoded in their mutual distance or overlap (separability or overlap equivalence).Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur

Chaos in temperature in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model

We prove the existence of chaos in temperature in the Sherringhton-Kirkpatrick model. The effect is exceedingly small, namely of the ninth order in perturbation theory. The equations describing two systems at different temperatures constrained to have a fixed overlap are studied analytically and numerically, yielding information about the behaviour of the overlap distribution function $P_{T_1,T_2}(q)$ in finite-size systems.Comment: REVTEX, 6 pages, 2 figure

Milnor Fibre Homology via Deformation

In case of one-dimensional singular locus, we use deformations in order to get refined information about the Betti numbers of the Milnor fibre.Comment: 14 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1411.264