A "thoughtful" Local Friendliness no-go theorem: a prospective experiment with new assumptions to suit

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2209.08491v4
• Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2023 06:22:05 GMT
• Title: A "thoughtful" Local Friendliness no-go theorem: a prospective experiment with new assumptions to suit
• Authors: Howard M. Wiseman and Eric G. Cavalcanti and Eleanor G. Rieffel
• Abstract summary: We present a new LF no-go theorem which takes seriously the idea that a system's having *thoughts* is a sufficient condition for it to be an observer. In addition to these four metaphysical assumptions, this new no-go theorem requires two assumptions about what is *technologically* feasible.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
• Abstract: A recent paper by two of us and co-workers, based on an extended Wigner's friend scenario, demonstrated that certain empirical correlations predicted by quantum theory (QT) violate inequalities derived from a set of metaphysical assumptions we called "Local Friendliness" (LF). These assumptions are strictly weaker than those used for deriving Bell inequalities. Crucial to the theorem was the premise that a quantum system with reversible evolution could be an observer (colloquially, a "friend"). However, that paper was noncommittal on what would constitute an observer for the purpose of an experiment. Here, we present a new LF no-go theorem which takes seriously the idea that a system's having *thoughts* is a sufficient condition for it to be an observer. Our new derivation of the LF inequalities uses four metaphysical assumptions, three of which are thought-related, including one that is explicitly called "Friendliness". These four assumptions, in conjunction, allow one to derive LF inequalities for experiments involving the type of system that "Friendliness" refers to. In addition to these four metaphysical assumptions, this new no-go theorem requires two assumptions about what is *technologically* feasible: Human-Level Artificial Intelligence, and Universal Quantum Computing which is fast and large scale. The latter is often motivated by the belief that QT is universal, but this is *not* an assumption of the theorem. The intent of the new theorem is to give a clear goal for future experimentalists, and a clear motivation for trying to achieve that goal. We review various approaches to QT in light of our theorem. The popular stance that "quantum theory needs no interpretation" does not question any of our assumptions and so is ruled out. Finally, we quantitatively discuss how difficult the experiment we envisage would be, and briefly discuss milestones on the paths towards it.

Related papers

• Testing trajectory-based determinism via time probability distributions [44.99833362998488]
  Bohmian mechanics (BM) has inherited more predictive power than quantum mechanics (QM) We introduce a prescription for constructing a flight-time probability distribution within generic trajectory-equipped theories. We derive probability distributions that are unreachable by QM.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-04-15T11:36:38Z)
• Thinking twice inside the box: is Wigner's friend really quantum? [0.0]
  We argue that the gist of the Wigner's friend paradox can be reproduced without assuming quantum physics. We show that several recently proposed extended Wigner's friend scenarios can be reproduced by classical thought experiments. We argue that this difficulty is at the core of other puzzles in the foundations of physics and philosophy.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-02-13T19:00:13Z)
• Logic meets Wigner's Friend (and their Friends) [49.1574468325115]
  We take a fresh look at Wigner's Friend thought-experiment and some of its more recent variants and extensions. We discuss various solutions proposed in the literature, focusing on a few questions.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-07-04T13:31:56Z)
• Connecting classical finite exchangeability to quantum theory [69.62715388742298]
  Exchangeability is a fundamental concept in probability theory and statistics. We show how a de Finetti-like representation theorem for finitely exchangeable sequences requires a mathematical representation which is formally equivalent to quantum theory.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-06-06T17:15:19Z)
• Quantum dissipation and the virial theorem [22.1682776279474]
  We study the celebrated virial theorem for dissipative systems, both classical and quantum. The non-Markovian nature of the quantum noise leads to novel bath-induced terms in the virial theorem. We also consider the case of an electrical circuit with thermal noise and analyze the role of non-Markovian noise in the context of the virial theorem.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-02-23T13:28:11Z)
• Theorems motivated by foundations of quantum mechanics and some of their applications [0.0]
  This paper provides theorems aimed at shedding light on issues in the foundations of quantum mechanics. theorems can be used to propose new interpretations to the theory, or to better understand, evaluate and improve current interpretations.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-02-02T21:55:57Z)
• Quantum realism: axiomatization and quantification [77.34726150561087]
  We build an axiomatization for quantum realism -- a notion of realism compatible with quantum theory. We explicitly construct some classes of entropic quantifiers that are shown to satisfy almost all of the proposed axioms.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-10-10T18:08:42Z)
• Observers of quantum systems cannot agree to disagree [55.41644538483948]
  We ask whether agreement between observers can serve as a physical principle that must hold for any theory of the world. We construct examples of (postquantum) no-signaling boxes where observers can agree to disagree.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-02-17T19:00:04Z)
• A no-go theorem for the persistent reality of Wigner's friend's perception [0.0]
  We formulate a no-go theorem for the persistent reality of Wigner's friend's perception. In a Wigner's friend scenario, there is no joint probability distribution for the friend's perceived measurement outcomes at two different times. We briefly discuss which of the theorem's assumptions are more likely to be dropped within various popular interpretations of quantum mechanics.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-09-20T18:56:52Z)
• The view from a Wigner bubble [0.0]
  I argue that the key distinction between QBism and realist interpretations of quantum mechanics is best understood in terms of their adherence to different theories of truth. The notion of reality afforded by QBism will correspond to the invariant elements of any theory that has pragmatic value to all rational agents.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-08-12T04:21:33Z)
• A strong no-go theorem on the Wigner's friend paradox [0.0]
  We prove that if quantum evolution is controllable on the scale of an observer, then one of 'No-Superdeterminism', 'Locality' or 'Absoluteness of Observed Events' must be false. We show that although the violation of Bell-type inequalities in such scenarios is not in general sufficient to demonstrate the contradiction between those three assumptions, new inequalities can be derived in a theory-independent manner.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2019-07-12T08:09:44Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.