Computability and analysis: the legacy of Alan Turing

We discuss the legacy of Alan Turing and his impact on computability and analysis.Comment: 49 page

The extensional realizability model of continuous functionals and three weakly non-constructive classical theorems

We investigate wether three statements in analysis, that can be proved classically, are realizable in the realizability model of extensional continuous functionals induced by Kleene's second model $K_2$. We prove that a formulation of the Riemann Permutation Theorem as well as the statement that all partially Cauchy sequences are Cauchy cannot be realized in this model, while the statement that the product of two anti-Specker spaces is anti-Specker can be realized

A Combinatorial Approach to Nonlocality and Contextuality

So far, most of the literature on (quantum) contextuality and the Kochen-Specker theorem seems either to concern particular examples of contextuality, or be considered as quantum logic. Here, we develop a general formalism for contextuality scenarios based on the combinatorics of hypergraphs which significantly refines a similar recent approach by Cabello, Severini and Winter (CSW). In contrast to CSW, we explicitly include the normalization of probabilities, which gives us a much finer control over the various sets of probabilistic models like classical, quantum and generalized probabilistic. In particular, our framework specializes to (quantum) nonlocality in the case of Bell scenarios, which arise very naturally from a certain product of contextuality scenarios due to Foulis and Randall. In the spirit of CSW, we find close relationships to several graph invariants. The recently proposed Local Orthogonality principle turns out to be a special case of a general principle for contextuality scenarios related to the Shannon capacity of graphs. Our results imply that it is strictly dominated by a low level of the Navascu\'es-Pironio-Ac\'in hierarchy of semidefinite programs, which we also apply to contextuality scenarios. We derive a wealth of results in our framework, many of these relating to quantum and supraquantum contextuality and nonlocality, and state numerous open problems. For example, we show that the set of quantum models on a contextuality scenario can in general not be characterized in terms of a graph invariant. In terms of graph theory, our main result is this: there exist two graphs $G_1$ and $G_2$ with the properties \begin{align*} \alpha(G_1) &= \Theta(G_1), & \alpha(G_2) &= \vartheta(G_2), \\[6pt] \Theta(G_1\boxtimes G_2) & > \Theta(G_1)\cdot \Theta(G_2),& \Theta(G_1 + G_2) & > \Theta(G_1) + \Theta(G_2). \end{align*}Comment: minor revision, same results as in v2, to appear in Comm. Math. Phy

Noncontextuality, Finite Precision Measurement and the Kochen-Specker Theorem

Meyer recently queried whether non-contextual hidden variable models can, despite the Kochen-Specker theorem, simulate the predictions of quantum mechanics to within any fixed finite experimental precision. Clifton and Kent have presented constructions of non-contextual hidden variable theories which, they argued, indeed simulate quantum mechanics in this way. These arguments have evoked some controversy. One aim of this paper is to respond to and rebut criticisms of the MCK papers. We thus elaborate in a little more detail how the CK models can reproduce the predictions of quantum mechanics to arbitrary precision. We analyse in more detail the relationship between classicality, finite precision measurement and contextuality, and defend the claims that the CK models are both essentially classical and non-contextual. We also examine in more detail the senses in which a theory can be said to be contextual or non-contextual, and in which an experiment can be said to provide evidence on the point. In particular, we criticise the suggestion that a decisive experimental verification of contextuality is possible, arguing that the idea rests on a conceptual confusion.Comment: 27 pages; published version; minor changes from previous versio