Quantum Theory from Rules on Information Acquisition

We summarize a recent reconstruction of the quantum theory of qubits from rules constraining an observer’s acquisition of information about physical systems. This review is accessible and fairly self-contained, focusing on the main ideas and results and not the technical details. The reconstruction...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Philipp Andres Höhn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2017-03-01
Series:Entropy
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/19/3/98
Description
Summary:We summarize a recent reconstruction of the quantum theory of qubits from rules constraining an observer’s acquisition of information about physical systems. This review is accessible and fairly self-contained, focusing on the main ideas and results and not the technical details. The reconstruction offers an informational explanation for the architecture of the theory and specifically for its correlation structure. In particular, it explains entanglement, monogamy and non-locality compellingly from limited accessible information and complementarity. As a by-product, it also unravels new ‘conserved informational charges’ from complementarity relations that characterize the unitary group and the set of pure states.
ISSN:1099-4300