58 research outputs found
Quantum observer and Kolmogorov complexity: a model that can be tested
Different observers do not have to agree on how they identify a quantum
system. We explore a condition based on algorithmic complexity that allows a
system to be described as an objective "element of reality". We also suggest an
experimental test of the hypothesis that any system, even much smaller than a
human being, can be a quantum mechanical observer.Comment: 11 pages. Section 6 on experimental tests added in version
The Effectiveness of Mathematics in Physics of the Unknown
If physics is a science that unveils the fundamental laws of nature, then the appearance of mathematical concepts in its language can be surprising or even mysterious. This was Eugene Wigner's argument in 1960. I show that another approach to physical theory accommodates mathematics in a perfectly reasonable way. To explore unknown processes or phenomena, one builds a theory from fundamental principles, employing them as constraints within a general mathematical framework. The rise of such theories of the unknown, which I call blackbox models, drives home the unsurprising effectiveness of mathematics. I illustrate it on the examples of Einstein's principle theories, the -matrix approach in quantum field theory, effective field theories, and device-independent approaches in quantum information
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