99 research outputs found
Quantum Limitations on the Storage and Transmission of Information
Information must take up space, must weigh, and its flux must be limited.
Quantum limits on communication and information storage leading to these
conclusions are here described. Quantum channel capacity theory is reviewed for
both steady state and burst communication. An analytic approximation is given
for the maximum signal information possible with occupation number signal
states as a function of mean signal energy. A theorem guaranteeing that these
states are optimal for communication is proved. A heuristic "proof" of the
linear bound on communication is given, followed by rigorous proofs for signals
with specified mean energy, and for signals with given energy budget. And
systems of many parallel quantum channels are shown to obey the linear bound
for a natural channel architecture. The time--energy uncertainty principle is
reformulated in information language by means of the linear bound. The quantum
bound on information storage capacity of quantum mechanical and quantum field
devices is reviewed. A simplified version of the analytic proof for the bound
is given for the latter case. Solitons as information caches are discussed, as
is information storage in one dimensional systems. The influence of signal
self--gravitation on communication is considerd. Finally, it is shown that
acceleration of a receiver acts to block information transfer.Comment: Published relatively inaccessible review on a perennially interesting
subject. Plain TeX, 47 pages, 5 jpg figures (not embedded
- …