Codimension and pseudometric in co-Heyting algebras

In this paper we introduce a notion of dimension and codimension for every element of a distributive bounded lattice $L$. These notions prove to have a good behavior when $L$ is a co-Heyting algebra. In this case the codimension gives rise to a pseudometric on $L$ which satisfies the ultrametric triangle inequality. We prove that the Hausdorff completion of $L$ with respect to this pseudometric is precisely the projective limit of all its finite dimensional quotients. This completion has some familiar metric properties, such as the convergence of every monotonic sequence in a compact subset. It coincides with the profinite completion of $L$ if and only if it is compact or equivalently if every finite dimensional quotient of $L$ is finite. In this case we say that $L$ is precompact. If $L$ is precompact and Hausdorff, it inherits many of the remarkable properties of its completion, specially those regarding the join/meet irreducible elements. Since every finitely presented co-Heyting algebra is precompact Hausdorff, all the results we prove on the algebraic structure of the latter apply in particular to the former. As an application, we obtain the existence for every positive integers $n,d$ of a term $t_{n,d}$ such that in every co-Heyting algebra generated by an $n$-tuple $a$, $t_{n,d}(a)$ is precisely the maximal element of codimension $d$.Comment: 34 page

The physical interpretation of daseinisation

We provide a conceptual discussion and physical interpretation of some of the quite abstract constructions in the topos approach to physics. In particular, the daseinisation process for projection operators and for self-adjoint operators is motivated and explained from a physical point of view. Daseinisation provides the bridge between the standard Hilbert space formalism of quantum theory and the new topos-based approach to quantum theory. As an illustration, we will show all constructions explicitly for a three-dimensional Hilbert space and the spin-z operator of a spin-1 particle. This article is a companion to the article by Isham in the same volume.Comment: 39 pages; to appear in "Deep Beauty", ed. Hans Halvorson, Cambridge University Press (2010

Effective dimension of finite semigroups

In this paper we discuss various aspects of the problem of determining the minimal dimension of an injective linear representation of a finite semigroup over a field. We outline some general techniques and results, and apply them to numerous examples.Comment: To appear in J. Pure Appl. Al

Time Delay Estimation from Low Rate Samples: A Union of Subspaces Approach

Time delay estimation arises in many applications in which a multipath medium has to be identified from pulses transmitted through the channel. Various approaches have been proposed in the literature to identify time delays introduced by multipath environments. However, these methods either operate on the analog received signal, or require high sampling rates in order to achieve reasonable time resolution. In this paper, our goal is to develop a unified approach to time delay estimation from low rate samples of the output of a multipath channel. Our methods result in perfect recovery of the multipath delays from samples of the channel output at the lowest possible rate, even in the presence of overlapping transmitted pulses. This rate depends only on the number of multipath components and the transmission rate, but not on the bandwidth of the probing signal. In addition, our development allows for a variety of different sampling methods. By properly manipulating the low-rate samples, we show that the time delays can be recovered using the well-known ESPRIT algorithm. Combining results from sampling theory with those obtained in the context of direction of arrival estimation methods, we develop necessary and sufficient conditions on the transmitted pulse and the sampling functions in order to ensure perfect recovery of the channel parameters at the minimal possible rate. Our results can be viewed in a broader context, as a sampling theorem for analog signals defined over an infinite union of subspaces

A Royal Road to Quantum Theory (or Thereabouts)

This paper fails to derive quantum mechanics from a few simple postulates. But it gets very close --- and it does so without much exertion. More exactly, I obtain a representation of finite-dimensional probabilistic systems in terms of euclidean Jordan algebras, in a strikingly easy way, from simple assumptions. This provides a framework within which real, complex and quaternionic QM can play happily together, and allows some --- but not too much --- room for more exotic alternatives. (This is a leisurely summary, based on recent lectures, of material from the papers arXiv:1206:2897 and arXiv:1507.06278, the latter joint work with Howard Barnum and Matthew Graydon. Some further ideas are also explored.)Comment: 33 pages, 3 figures. An expanded and somewhat informal account of material from arXiv:1206:2897, plus some new results. A number of typos and other minor errors are corrected in version

Normal forms and entanglement measures for multipartite quantum states

A general mathematical framework is presented to describe local equivalence classes of multipartite quantum states under the action of local unitary and local filtering operations. This yields multipartite generalizations of the singular value decomposition. The analysis naturally leads to the introduction of entanglement measures quantifying the multipartite entanglement (as generalizations of the concurrence and the 3-tangle), and the optimal local filtering operations maximizing these entanglement monotones are obtained. Moreover a natural extension of the definition of GHZ-states to e.g. $2\times 2\times N$ systems is obtained.Comment: Proof of uniqueness of normal form adde